Jupiter and company and their Adventure in the Amazon
by VPVPVP
Summary: Jupiter and company follow Blu and his family's path into the Amazon. However, shortly after arrival some run into problems. Mercury, Uranus, Sapphire and Esmeralda must deal with the conflict still existing between the green and Lear's macaw tribes while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli must convince the stubborn glaucous macaw tribe that they are very vulnerable and need protection.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- prologue**

It had been a number of months after the events of Rio One and a Half. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, the nine macaws formerly owned by Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake, had begun a new chapter of their lives. They had all found mates and had paired up with them and have had chicks with them. Mercury the Lear's macaw had paired up with a beautiful female Lear's macaw named Sapphire who came from the Amazon. He and Sapphire's pairing had been assisted by Tulio and his team based on their goal of establishing a Lear's macaw population on the Blu Bird Sanctuary. However, their meeting did not go very well but throughout the journey and Jupiter's group of escaping the smugglers and getting them caught, Mercury and Sapphire had grown to like each other and had eventually become mates. They were now the parents of three daughters named Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, and had become the first family of Lear's macaws to live on the Blu Bird Sanctuary. At almost the same time, Venus the Spix macaw had paired up with Zephyr, a male Spix macaw also from the Amazon. However, like Mercury and Sapphire, Venus and Zephyr at first did not get off on the right talon when they first met, but during the adventure, the two had grown to like each other and had eventually become mates a few months later. Venus and Zephyr were now proud parents of four chicks, oldest son and chick Justin, oldest daughter and second oldest chick Charlotte, third oldest chick and second oldest daughter Matilda, and youngest chick and son Virgil. Brisa, Zephyr's brother, had become a proud aunt of these four chicks, and Zephyr and Venus had become the Blu Bird Sanctuary's second breeding pair of Spix macaws after Blu and Jewel. Mars the green-winged macaw had paired up with a rather diminutive green-winged macaw named Chiquitita who was also from the Amazon. They had had three chicks together: oldest son and chick Phobos, middle chick and son Deimos, and youngest chick and son Alexandre. Jupiter the scarlet macaw, the leader of the group of macaws had paired up with Chiquitita's scarlet macaw friend Ruby and together, they had four chicks: oldest daughter and chick Io, second oldest daughter and chick Europa, third oldest chick and only son Ganymede and youngest daughter and chick Callisto.

Saturn the blue-and-gold macaw had paired up with Orquidea, a female blue-and-gold macaw also from the Amazon and a friend of Chiquitita and Ruby. These two had had the biggest brood of Jupiter's group, of seven chicks. Their names were Mimas (oldest daughter and chick), Enceladus (oldest son and second oldest chick), Tethys, Dione and Rhea (who had hatched nearly at the same time and are sometimes called triplets, and are classed as Saturn and Orquidea's third, fourth and fifth oldest chicks and second, third and fourth oldest daughters respectively), Titan (second oldest son and sixth oldest chick) and Iapetus (youngest son and chick). Uranus the great green macaw had paired up with Esmeralda, a female great green macaw also from the Amazon and another friend of Ruby and Chiquitita. They had had five chicks together: four older daughters Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania who all look like Esmeralda and each other and could only told apart by the colours of their eyes, and youngest and only son Oberon who looked very similar to Uranus. Neptune the hyacinth macaw had paired up with Ultramarine, a female hyacinth macaw from the Amazon and they had two chicks, oldest son and chick named Triton and youngest chick and daughter named Indigo. Ceres the blue-throated macaw had paired up with a male Amazonian blue-throated macaw named Cobalto and together, they had three sons named Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur while Pluto, the only known male glaucous macaw in existence had paired up with the only known female glaucous macaw in existence, Lapis Lazuli, who also came from the Amazon. Much like Venus and Mercury, the two had met in Tulio's Aviary in the artificial habitat, the same place where Blu met Jewel. Together, the two glaucous macaws had four chicks, oldest daughter and chick Blueberry, second oldest chick and oldest son Charon, younger son and third oldest chick Quincy and youngest daughter and chick Flor. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, in the same way Blu and Jewel had saved their species the Spix macaw from extinction by breeding, had saved their species the glaucous macaw from certain disappearance from existence and had given their species a new lease on life in a new generation. However, the other four pets that lived with Jupiter and the other eight macaws, Travis the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Sunset the Major Mitchell's cockatoo, Veggie the vegetarian tabby cat and Dash the greyhound, had also paired up with mates and had had offspring. Travis and Sunset had paired up with each other while Veggie paired up with Catina, a former smugglers' cat, and Dash paired with Ginger, a former stray greyhound taken in by Susan and Lucy along with Catina.

Travis and Sunset, now mates, had had a brood of three chicks, oldest son Eustace, middle chick and second oldest son Milo and youngest and only daughter Rosa. All three chicks were sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's hybrids due to their parents being different species. Eustace looked a lot like Travis and had his yellow crest. However, the crest feathers were differing shades of yellow and amber as the striking red and yellow bands he got from Sunset seemed to have mixed in with Travis's yellow but the red did not show. This feature made Eustace look somewhat like a citron crested cockatoo, a subspecies of sulfur-crested cockatoo that had a yellow-orange crest. The rest of his plumage was mostly white but the blotches on his wings and tail undersides appeared peach coloured as though the yellow marks from Travis and the deep salmon pink marks from Sunset had mixed. He was named after a character from _The Chronicles of Narnia._ Milo also had peach coloured marks under his wings and tail, but the bands in his crest were more obvious than Eustace's. Instead of being differing shades of yellow and orange, Milo's crest was red and yellow only the red was more vermillion than Sunset's deep red crest bands. Like his brother, most of his plumage appeared white but up close, Milo's white feathers appeared pink tinted. His eyes were blue but were darker than Travis's baby blue eyes. Rosa resembled Sunset more than she did Travis. Her plumage was white and pinkish and her crest was vermillion and rich yellow like Milo's but her vermillion bands were more orange. Her eyes were a shade of pink and she had peach coloured blotches on her wing and tail undersides. All three chicks had near black beaks and feet like Travis and stocky builds like their parents. When Travis and Sunset had paired up, most birds thought it was a bit bizarre for a sulfur-crested cockatoo to pair up with a female of another species, but because Rafael the toco toucan had paired up with a female of another toucan species, a keel-billed toucan named Eva, Travis and Sunset did so anyway. Eustace, Milo and Rosa were good friends with the macaw chicks and were like their cousins.

While Travis and Sunset had become proud parents of three hybrid chicks, Veggie and Catina had become the proud parents of four kittens, all of which were a tabby/calico mix. Their kittens' names were oldest son and kitten Broccoli, second oldest kitten and son Daisy, third oldest kitten and younger daughter Collette and youngest kitten and son Thomas. Broccoli and Thomas resembled their father Veggie more than they did their mother Catina. Like their father, both had striped brown, black and orange fur. Broccoli had brown eyes while Thomas had baby blue eyes, lighter than his mother Catina's. Broccoli took after his father Veggie and showed a strong dislike of meat including fish and mice, preferring vegetarian food instead. Thomas, however, preferred regular cat food but still liked eating fish. Both sons showed little inheritance from Catina. The daughters, Daisy and Collette however, showed more inheritance from both their parents. They were 'caliby' cats, a mix of calico and tabby. Like their mother Catina, Collette and Daisy had white fur but their orange and black blotches were interspersed with Veggie's black and brown stripes. Daisy showed less of this than Collette and had more white than her younger sister. Daisy had baby blue eyes like her mother Catina while Collette's eyes were hazel, a lighter shade of brown than Veggie's. Daisy seemed to show an aversion to meat and prefer a vegetarian diet just like Veggie and Broccoli did. However Collette liked regular cat food and the odd fish every now and then. All four kittens were slender in build and they were friendly with birds, which Veggie and Catina, especially Veggie were glad for, as the only bird meat Catina, Thomas and Collette preferred to eat was chicken but they would never kill a bird to eat unlike most cats. Finally, Dash and Ginger the greyhound had become proud parents of a litter of five pups, oldest daughter and puppy Eduarda, second oldest daughter and puppy Esperanza, third oldest puppy and older son James, fourth oldest puppy and younger daughter Avellana, and youngest puppy and son Danny. All five puppies looked like a spitting image of their parents with either light grey or ginger coloured fur. Eduarda, Danny and Avellana had ginger fur like their mother but Avellana's fur was hazelnut coloured, earning her her name (Avellana was Spanish for hazelnut) while James and Esperanza were light grey. Their eye shades were also associated with their parents' eye colours and were either a shade of blue (like Dash's) or brown (like Ginger's). Eduarda had hazel eyes, Esperanza had ocean blue eyes, James had brown eyes, Avellana had baby blue eyes and Danny had sandy brown eyes. All five greyhound puppies had the typical greyhound build: long slender legs and a cheetah-like body with a long tail and all were very energetic. They were good friends with Catina and Veggie's kittens and loved to play with them. However, the kittens and the puppies were to be sold to other owners once they become old enough while their parents will possibly have another litter of kittens and puppies.

As the years went by since the capturing of the second group of smugglers, Susan and Lucy had finished their degree in ecology and had joined Tulio's team to help with the conservation of Brazil's birds while their three cousins, Blake, Jake and Jake had gone home to London to finish their degree there. During this time period, Susan and Lucy had released Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto into the Blu Bird Sanctuary so that they could be with their mates and raise their chicks, though sometimes the macaws paid them a visit. Unlike Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago who lived in a birdhouse near Linda, Tulio and Fernando's cottage, Jupiter and company chose to live in hollows while Travis, Sunset and their three chicks had moved to a birdhouse nailed to a tree just outside Susan and Lucy's house to live near their owners' house like how Blu and his family did as the cockatoos preferred to raise their chicks in a more naturalistic environment and had pretty much gone off cages. Veggie, Dash and their families, however, remained as house pets since they were, after all, built for the human home. All eleven birds, Dash and Veggie were enjoying their lives as parents and raised their offspring in their respective homes. However, a new adventure was about to unfold…

As Venus and Mercury raised their chicks with their respective mates, Zephyr and Sapphire, they still kept their parents' dream and hope of other macaws like themselves alive and had hoped to one day venture into the Amazon to find those birds. However, that journey was to be made by Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago along with Rafael, Nico and Pedro first, but Mercury and Venus, together with their families and friends including Jupiter and his family but apart from Veggie and Dash and their families, would soon follow that flight path.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- New Year's Eve and welcome**

 **Note: this chapter is set at the same time as the beginning of Rio 2**

It had come to the end of the year for everyone in Rio, Brazil and all across the world. Countries ahead of Rio had already celebrated the arrival of the New Year but it had come to Rio and other places' turn to welcome it as well. Along Copacabana Beach, people were dancing and setting down flowers on the ocean that lapped against the sand while elsewhere in most of the city, people were celebrating and dancing. Colourful lights were strewn between houses above the streets and people flooded the streets and houses as well as they celebrated New Year's Eve. On the footsteps and platform leading to the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue, a sea of colourful feathered forms were dancing to the song 'What is Love'. The majority of the birds of Rio here including Blu and Jewel were dancing away. However, some of the birds of Rio had chosen to dance somewhere else instead. In one part of Rio where Susan and Lucy lived, a smaller group of birds danced alongside some domesticated dog friends while humans nearby, among them Susan and Lucy, threw a party. It was close to midnight, the final hour of the old year and everyone was dancing away. Among the smaller group of birds and dog friends swamping the gardens of Susan and Lucy's neighbourhood, Jupiter and company were dancing and celebrating the soon-to-be New Year. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto with their respective mates Sapphire, Zephyr, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli, alongside Zephyr's sister Brisa, and Jupiter and company's greyhound friend Dash and his mate Ginger, cat friend Veggie and his mate Catina, and Travis and Sunset the sulfur-crested and Major Mitchell's cockatoos respectively, were dancing together with the other birds and the dogs of the neighbourhood. Jupiter and company had left their chicks, puppies and kittens under the care of some dog and bird babysitters, among them Inky and Elsa, two King Charles spaniels and the pet dogs of Susan and Lucy's next door neighbours and a new friend of Jupiter and company. Among the dancing crowd of dogs and birds were a few domesticated birds like Jupiter and company themselves but the majority of the birds were from the Blu Bird Sanctuary's jungle (or Tijuca Forest, which was the name of the jungle near Rio).

The crowd of birds and dogs were dancing to a variety of songs, mostly from the eighties, nineties and noughties, and also some recent ones. One of the songs was 'New Year's Day' by U2, a famous rock band. Outside in the street, Susan and Lucy and their new friends were celebrating with a dance and a party too. Susan and Lucy had also set up fireworks in one part of the neighbourhood, in a clearing away from the houses and trees, ready to be ignited and sent up into the sky as soon as it struck midnight. The dogs and birds were prohibited from going anywhere these dangerous pyrotechnical rockets due to them being very dangerous. One or two humans were going around the setup making the final checks such as making sure that all rockets pointed toward the sky before ignition. While Susan, Lucy and their friends danced away, the birds and dogs continued dancing in the gardens. Some birds danced on the ground with the dogs while some of the others danced in the air. The song currently playing was 'New Year's Day' by U2. While the song played loudly from a DJ set run by a large dog (a Great Dane) who danced to its beat, Jupiter and Ruby were spinning in the air as they danced. Around them, some other macaw and bird couples including Saturn and Orquidea also danced in elegant aerial patterns.

"You know something, when we lived in London," shouted Jupiter so that Ruby could hear his voice over the loud music, "We once attended the New Year's gathering to watch an enormous fireworks display the moment Big Ben begun to chime at midnight. The London Eye was literally ablaze when those fireworks were set off in such patterns from it."

"Wow, it must have been an awesome sight to watch," said Ruby in a loud voice.

"It was," shouted Jupiter. He and Ruby then spun in an elegant circle while close to each other several times before finally stretching out while holding talons. Then the two separated and began to flap their wings to the beat in perfect synchrony. Nearby, Saturn and Orquidea were doing the same.

"Wow, for a bird from London you certainly know how to dance," said Orquidea admirably as she watched Saturn flap in perfect sync with her.

"Oh, yeah, the green-winged macaws on the Blu Bird Sanctuary taught me how to dance in sync," said Saturn as he continued flapping and dancing alongside Orquidea. Then a few blue-and-gold macaws came by, flying in two lines until their formed a pair of concentric rings to dance in sync. Saturn and Orquidea joined them and began to dance alongside them while Jupiter and Ruby joined some green-winged macaws who had also arranged themselves in a pair of concentric circles to dance in sync with them. Close by, two lines of parakeets and macaws were flying around the red and blue-and-gold dancers. Among them were Uranus and Esmeralda, Neptune and Ultramarine, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. As the birds flew in their lines past the red and blue-and-gold macaws, some did corkscrews. Lapis Lazuli did hers very well but Pluto ended up losing control of his flight when he tried to do his but Lapis Lazuli flew down and caught him as he began to drop.

"Thanks, Lapis," shouted Pluto above the loud music.

"Okay, no problem," shouted Lapis Lazuli. The two glaucous macaws then descended towards the ground and began to dance together.

"I ought to teach you some advanced dance moves some time," said Lapis Lazuli as she danced with her mate.

"The corkscrew I can never master," said Pluto as he spun Lapis Lazuli and flung her into his wing so that Lapis Lazuli was leaning back over it. As Pluto lifted Lapis Lazuli back upright again, the two glaucous macaws were beak to beak, staring into each other's eyes lovingly.

"Hey, you two, happy New Year," said Dash nearby. The two glaucous macaws looked at him and Ginger as they smiled at him. Dash and Ginger had been dancing together.

"It's surprising how quick this year has gone by, hasn't it," continued Dash, "Not to mention how long ago the confirmation of Ginger's pregnancy with our first litter of pups."

And with that, he looked lovingly at Ginger.

"Yeah, I know," she crooned, "I still remember that exciting news as though it were yesterday."

"The hatching of Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor didn't seem that long ago either," said Pluto, "Mind you they were born a few weeks before your pregnancy was confirmed, Ginger."

"Catina's pregnancy with her and Veggie's first litter of kittens followed a couple of days after," said Dash, "Susan had even saved the pictures of the ultrasound scan of Ginger and Catina's babies in her album, alongside the pictures of our puppies and Veggie and Catina's kittens in their first days of life and the hatching of your chicks."

"What's an ultrasound thingy?" asked Lapis Lazuli confused.

"It's a device humans use to see an expecting mother's baby," explained Ginger, "It emits very high pitched sounds that forms an image of the foetus on a flat thing called a screen. Human mothers often have that but it can be done also on animals like dogs, cats and dolphins as well."

"Blu told us how an ultrasound scanner works," said Dash.

"Oh," said Lapis Lazuli intrigued, "It's amazing what things humans have invented, isn't it?"

"I think one of the most amazing things humans have invented is the plane," said Dash, "I read somewhere that the first plane designers were inspired by birds and how they fly to design devices that would fly."

"It's amazing how God's creation can inspire inventors like the Wright Brothers, isn't it?" said Pluto with a smile. Just then, Veggie and Catina danced by when they saw Pluto and Lapis Lazuli standing on the dancefloor.

"Hi, you two, what are you both doing down here?" asked Veggie, "I thought you were up there with the other birds."

"Oh, I just lost control and fell but Lapis Lazuli caught me," said Pluto.

"He tried doing a corkscrew roll," said Lapis Lazuli. Catina managed to stifle a slight laugh.

"It is quite a tricky move to pull off for a bird, isn't it?" she said, "Rolling in the air while flying."

"Anyway, let's get back to dancing," said Veggie with a smile. And with that, the three couples returned to dancing. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli flew back into the air to continue dancing above the dogs (and Veggie and Catina) and some of the birds below. As the two glaucous macaws danced, Lapis Lazuli said, "You know something, Pluto, it's hard to believe that we're the last of the glaucous macaws with no other individuals apart from our two sons and two daughters."

"I don't think the ornithologists have found others like us yet, have they, Lapis Lazuli?" replied Pluto, "But only time will tell."

Lapis Lazuli then pulled Pluto into a brief kiss before gazing into his sand coloured eyes lovingly.

"But last of the species or not," she crooned romantically, "At least I'm with a loving male with friends by his side. The others sure are like my new family since those flying foxes had separated me from my tribe in the Amazon."

"You know something, I still find that hard to believe," said Pluto, "how your now ex-boyfriend just abandoned you to face those terrifying bats alone. I'd have thought he'd have helped you escape those monstrous flying mammals…"

"Well, he didn't," said Lapis Lazuli sadly, "He just abandoned me to save his own skin and left me to escape by myself."

"I hope I never do that, ever," said Pluto, "I know I was a coward before when Brutus and his cats attacked us with their smuggler owners but I can't stand the thought or more importantly the sight of you getting hurt because I love you too much. That was why I launched myself into battle with Brutus to prevent him from harming you further…"

As he said this, Lapis Lazuli pulled him into another kiss, this time a longer, passionate one.

"Hey, lovebirds," said a voice, Zephyr's. At this Pluto and Lapis Lazuli broke their kiss and looked at Zephyr and Venus as they hovered nearby with Brisa.

"Happy New Year," said Zephyr with a smile.

"You too," said Lapis Lazuli. Pluto then smiled at Venus.

"Well, how are you doing with the planning of fulfilling your parents' dream of venturing into the Amazon and finding more Spix and Lear's macaws with Mercury and his family, Venus?" asked Pluto, "Still thinking about it?"

"We were, yes," said Venus, "But due to parental responsibilities, it's been put on hold."

"I was actually surprised that Venus's parents Erico and Clarinda had thought about that, actually," said Zephyr.

"Speaking of finding others like ourselves," said Brisa, "Have you ever thought of venturing into the Amazon to find other glaucous macaws, Pluto? It's worth a try."

Pluto, at this, shook his head.

"I don't think we'll find other glaucous macaws, to be honest," he said, "You see, our species is rarer than the Spix and Lear's macaws and the chances of finding any more glaucous macaws are very slim."

"I doubt my tribe will still be alive anyway after we were violently attacked by those flying foxes," said Lapis Lazuli. She then looked at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars as they both danced with their respective mates Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Chiquitita a few feet away and amongst some other bird couples. Pluto then managed to pick out Mercury and Sapphire through the colourful crowd.

"I'm not sure if the other six macaws had thought about this but do you suppose that they could have plans of venturing out into the Amazon to find more of their species too?" asked Pluto.

"Well, Saturn, Orquidea, Mars and Chiquitita are fortunate that there are other blue-and-gold and green-winged macaws around," said Brisa, "But the others, there aren't very many hyacinth, blue-throated, scarlet or great green or military macaws around our home."

"Furthermore," said Zephyr, "Chiquitita has become the subject of laughter by most other green-winged macaws because of her small size, and since two of her and Mars's chicks, Phobos and Deimos, had likely inherited her diminutive size as they appear shorter than their younger brother, Alexandre, Chiquitita is having doubts if those two would be able to make friends easily with other young green-winged macaws…"

"In the red tribe, which is a macaw tribe consisting of scarlet and green-winged macaws, Chiquitita was accepted by most of the other tribe members despite her small size though some other macaws did tease her a bit," said Brisa, "But here, Chiquitita is actually finding it quite difficult to live on the Blu Bird Sanctuary because of so many of the other green-winged macaws teasing her…"

At this, Pluto looked at Chiquitita as she danced with Mars. Though she was a fully grown adult green-winged macaw, her head only went up to Mars's shoulders. Mars was one of the very few green-winged macaws who didn't laugh at Chiquitita's height, and he would often defend her from her teasers who did laugh at her small size. Ruby had told Pluto and Lapis Lazuli that Chiquitita's small size was genetic as one or two of her family members had been quite small as well. Then a white cockatoo with a brilliant yellow crest danced by with a light pink cockatoo with a striking red, yellow and pinkish white banded crest. When they saw Zephyr, Brisa, Venus, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto, the cockatoo couple stopped dancing and smiled.

"Hi, you five," said Travis, "Looking forward to the New Year?"

"We certainly are," said Zephyr. Then Brisa and Venus saw the concerned look on Sunset's face.

"Something wrong, Sunset?" asked Venus.

"Oh, no, not really," replied Sunset, "Just a bit concerned about our kids being left under the care of the babysitters. Our hybrid chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa are sometimes a bit reckless and hard to control…"

"Oh, don't worry about them, Sunset," said Pluto, "Inky the King Charles spaniel and his sister Elsa and Ónix the red-tailed black cockatoo and their friends are excellent babysitters. I'm sure they'll be fine."

Sunset just gave Pluto an uncertain look.

While their parents were on the makeshift dancefloor dancing the night away, the offspring of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Dash, Veggie, Travis and all their mates were in one garden under the watchful eye of some babysitters, among them Inky, Elsa and Ónix. There were forty chicks altogether alongside Veggie and Catina's four kittens and Dash and Ginger's five puppies. Due to so many chicks, there were thirteen bird babysitters besides Inky and Elsa, whose duty was to watch over the kittens and puppies. The thirteen babysitters, alongside the two King Charles spaniels, were hired by Jupiter and company just before sundown of New Year's Eve, and the thirteen birds including Ónix had assigned themselves to watch over at least three chicks per bird while Inky and Elsa took it in turns to watch over the kittens and puppies, though they did help with watching over the chicks as well. Both Inky and Elsa were smaller than Dash and Ginger. Both had white fur and like all King Charles spaniels, both dogs had fuzzy ears, a slender body build and fuzzy tails. Inky had black blotches on his back and tail and also black head and ears and his eyes were divided by a white patch erupting between them from his white snout. He took his name from 'inky black' based on his black fur. Elsa was similar to Inky but her head, ears and markings were brown instead of black. Inky had brown eyes while Elsa's eyes were amber. Inky and Elsa had experience in babysitting puppies and kittens and thus were good choices of Dash and Veggie, and the two sibling spaniels happily took up the role. However, while the two spaniels were excellent babysitters, they were at times prone to distractions especially when they were occupied with the other babies or talking with the other babysitters.

Jupiter and company's offspring were up to a variety of activities. Some including Dash, Veggie, Ginger and Catina's kittens and puppies played ball with some of the chicks, some like Ganymede were reading books and some played board games. However, the ball used by the kittens, puppies and some of the chicks had flown into someone else's garden; one of the forbidden ones for it was guarded by two Doberman Pinscher guard dogs.

"Aw, man," muttered one of the kittens, Broccoli when he saw that the ball had landed near the two guard dogs. The two guard dogs were asleep in a kennel, and the ball had landed in their drinking bowl, precariously close to the sleeping pair of dogs. Then a Spix macaw chick perched next to a fence post next to Broccoli. Charlotte shook her head and sighed.

"We're going to have to go in there and get it," she said. Broccoli, at this, shot her a glare.

"Are you kidding? Mr. Inky and Miss Elsa told us not to go in there," he said.

"But Broccoli," protested Charlotte, "We need to get that ball."

"But Charlotte, this garden is guarded by those two guard dogs," said Broccoli. Just then three more chicks (one scarlet, one glaucous, and one great green), the other three kittens and five greyhound puppies walked in. One of the chicks, one of the four scarlet macaws, looked nervous.

"Where did it go, Broc?" asked one of the greyhound puppies named Eduarda. Broccoli gave the puppy a disappointed frown.

"It's landed right in the drinking bowl next to those two guard dogs," he replied, "In that garden."

"Oh, great," muttered another greyhound puppy named Esperanza, "That was our only ball. Callisto's done a brilliant job in sending it flying into that garden."

"Way to go, Callisto," growled Broccoli to the female scarlet macaw chick with the nervous look on her face. Broccoli's younger siblings, Thomas, Collette and Daisy and Eduarda and Esperanza's siblings Danny, James and Avellana also gave the chick a disappointed look. However, the chick's face had turned to one of protest.

"You sent it flying in my direction, Broccoli," said Callisto. Then one of the great green macaw chicks, Oberon fluttered onto a fence post and perched on it.

"We're going to have to get that ball out of that garden then," he said in a low voice.

"But Oberon," said Broccoli, "Haven't you heard what Mr. Inky and Miss Elsa told us? Those two dogs are guard dogs. If they see any intruder in the garden, they'll not hesitate to aggressively chase them out."

"Our babysitters would also forbid us from entering that garden, anyway," said Eduarda, "It's not safe with those two guard dogs."

Then one of the glaucous macaw chicks, Charon, stepped forward, a determined look on his face.

"I'll go get it," he said when he saw the ball in the drinking bowl of the two sleeping dogs.

"But Charon," began Thomas.

"Look, I'm as quiet as a mouse though your hearing is acute enough to hear its footsteps as Ganymede and Bia told us," said Charon, "And besides that, those two guard dogs are asleep. They'll not notice my presence while I get the ball."

"Er, Charon," said Daisy, "I don't think Mr. Ónix and the other bird babysitters would…"

"Oh, I'll only be in that garden for a short time, just while I get the ball," said Charon. Despite his insistence, the others with him wore disagreeing faces. What would their babysitters and their parents say if any of them went into a forbidden garden? Before their parents left the chicks, kittens and puppies under the care of their babysitters, Ginger had explained to them how some dogs were vicious and how some of them, guard dogs, had been trained by their owners to react to intruders and chase them out as she had encountered a few vicious dogs during her life as a stray dog, among them guard dogs. This was repeated to them by Inky and Elsa who knew this neighbourhood well for they had lived here since they were puppies. Also, before their parents left, Jupiter and company had commanded them to respect their babysitters and remember the rules of staying in their sight at all times, and also NOT to go into any garden that was forbidden, especially if they were guarded by guard dogs. With this in mind, Broccoli, Charlotte, Esperanza, Eduarda, and the others were against Charon's idea of venturing into one such garden to get the ball. However Charon, though he knew that garden was forbidden due to it having guard dogs, was determined to get the ball.

"Look, I know you're concerned at how our babysitters and our parents would react if I went into that garden but it's only for a short time," protested Charon, "Please, let me. I'm really itching to play more ball games, anyway, and that ball is the only one we have."

At first, the others with him only looked at him for a few more seconds until finally, Esperanza said, "Okay then, but make it quick because if any of those bird babysitters turn up and they find you in that garden, you'd end up in trouble and your mom and dad would also not be impressed."

Charon nodded and with that, he prepared to enter the garden. Making sure that the babysitters who were occupied with the other chicks, Inky and Elsa talking with Callisto's only brother Ganymede as he continued reading a book about plants, Charon fluttered down from the fence post and began to quietly advance towards the two sleeping Doberman guard dogs. Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny the puppies, Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy the kittens, and Callisto, Charlotte and Oberon watched as the glaucous macaw chick began to stealthily approach the two guard dogs. While they watched Charon, four blue-and-gold macaw chicks flew in. when Titan and three of his sisters Tethys, Dione and Rhea saw Charon in the forbidden garden, Broccoli raised a paw to his mouth to tell them to be quiet. The four chicks, however, shook their heads in disapproval. Charon continued creeping towards the two guard dogs, making a beeline for the drinking bowl where the ball floated. The ball was yellow and had a blue stripe running around its equator. At each of the ball's poles, a red large five-pointed star expanded with its five points pointing to the blue band around the equator ( **guess what sort of ball this is. If you know certain films like Toy Story, you'd know!** ). As Charon approached the drinking bowl, he flinched as one of the dogs let a snore escape quickly before returning to a slower rhythmic snore. The audience also flinched but Titan wore a disapproving face.

"It is dangerous, like Mr Inky and Miss Elsa said," he said in a hushed voice, "Not to mention disobedient. It is rather crazy."

Charon continued tiptoeing towards the drinking bowl, being careful not to step on anything that could awake the dogs. As he crept by the dogs, he kept a good eye on the two, making sure that they didn't show any signs of waking up. If one of them did wake up and spotted a grey and dark turquoise bird in front of it, it would not hesitate to chase him out. Charon quickly and quietly crept past the two dogs and made it to the drinking bowl. The audience continued watching as the glaucous macaw chick then slowly reached into the bowl and wrapped his wings around the ball. This was the most dangerous part and Charon had to take extreme care. If he made too much splashing noises as he removed the ball, he'd wake the two Doberman dogs.

"Oh, no," said Broccoli in an inaudible voice, "Come back. You've been in there too long, come back."

Callisto, Oberon and Charlotte continued watching their friend, their eyes filled with fear in case Charon might make a wrong move and wake the dogs while the five greyhound puppies, Broccoli's three siblings and Titan, Tethys, Dione and Rhea looked on with frowns on their faces. Charon then slowly lifted up the ball, but he flinched as a sudden snore escaped one of the dogs. Charon paused for a second, his eyes on the dogs but then resumed retrieving the ball. Then as soon as Charon had managed to lift the ball out of the drinking bowl, he breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to make his way back to the others and the safety of the outside. However, before he could do that, while the four kittens, five puppies and seven chicks continued watching Charon, they did not see a shaggy black feathered form with a bright red tail with contrasting black markings approach them from behind.

"What are you lot doing?" asked the black form suspiciously. At this, the group turned around but the moment their eyes landed on Ónix the red-tailed black cockatoo, they flinched harshly. Ónix looked at the mixed group of greyhound puppies, caliby kittens and chicks with a suspicious look on his face.

"Oh, Mr Ónix, we didn't see you approach us," said Broccoli timidly, trying to stall the black cockatoo so that Charon could escape the forbidden garden. However, Ónix wasn't fooled. While the group looked at Ónix, Charon had begun to step down from the edge of the drinking bowl but then something went very wrong. As he proceeded to put a talon down onto the floor, his upper body began to wobble. Charon began to panic as he suddenly lost balance. But then something else frightened him and sent everything flying into chaos.

"CHARON!" screeched a voice. This made Charon flinch so much that he finally lost his balance and plunged right into the drinking bowl in a massive splash. As he did so, he accidentally tossed the ball over his head. The ball flew and struck one of the sleeping dogs on the head. Broccoli and the others with him turned round just in time to see the dog that had been hit on the head by the ball wake up. Ónix flew in and when he saw Charon struggle in the drinking bowl and that one of the dogs had woken up, he drew in a sharp horrified gasp, and his feathered crest stood right up.

"Stay here, you lot," he commanded the group and flew off to retrieve the flailing glaucous macaw chick. However, he was not alone as two more glaucous macaws, both adults also flew in. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had returned from the dancefloor to check on the babysitters and the chicks, kittens and puppies but had seen Charon on the rim of the drinking bowl right next to the two guard dogs. But as alarm driven the two glaucous macaw parents into flying right into the garden, they were met by the fearsome gaze of the woken dog. Both Pluto and Lapis Lazuli froze as the dog's eyes bore into them and a growl emitted from its throat. The dog also had its teeth bearing and was ready to drive the intruders out. Ónix hovered up behind the pair of glaucous macaws moments before the dog finally leaped into action. Barking loudly, it began to chase the two glaucous macaws and red-tailed cockatoo. Charon continued flailing like mad in the drinking bowl's water until he grabbed the rim and scrambled out. But barking filled his ears, he looked up and cried in horror when he saw that his parents and one of his babysitters being chased around by the barking dog. The dog's barking had woken up the other guard dog. When it saw the three intruders as well, it left its sleeping spot and gave chase. Charon, with his feathers sopping wet, staggered away from the drinking bowl when suddenly, talons wrapped around his body and carried him off. At first, he was alarmed but when he saw that it was his mother, he sighed in relief. Lapis Lazuli then cried, "Okay, I've got him!"

Pluto and Ónix, upon hearing this, quickly retreated after the female glaucous macaw as she carried Charon to safety. The ball had bounced near the fence within reach but as one of Broccoli's sisters Collette could reach into the garden through the fence and grabbed it, a dog paw appeared and pulled her away from the fence moments before the two Doberman guard dogs ran in and began barking at her. Inky had rushed in to drag her away.

"What in the world were you doing, you foolish kitten!?" shouted Inky as Collette hugged the retrieved ball, "Get away from that fence this minute!"

Collette obeyed and with that, she followed Inky back to the others. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy, Eduarda and her four siblings and the other chicks followed. However, the commotion had attracted more adult birds, and also two adult greyhounds and two adult cats: a calico and a tabby. As soon as the group had returned to the other chicks and babysitters, Lapis Lazuli was trembling violently as she placed the sodden Charon onto the grass as Jupiter and Ruby appeared with the others including Veggie, Catina, Dash, Ginger, Sunset and Travis.

"What in the world happened!?" demanded Jupiter angrily. Without hesitation, Ónix explained to the two scarlet macaws.

"One of Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's chicks Charon went into that garden guarded by the two Doberman Pinschers and woke them up," he said, "Thankfully, we managed to rescue him before those dogs could harm him."

"We saw him on the drinking bowl right near the dogs," said Pluto and with that, he looked down at his son angrily. Charon, whose feathers were sopping wet, made an ashamed face. Then his siblings, Flor, Blueberry and Quincy gathered around him.

"WHAT!?" shouted Ginger in disbelief. She then turned to Broccoli and the others that had accompanied him including his three siblings Daisy, Collette and Thomas with an angry face.

"What have we just told you about forbidden gardens and guard dogs, you lot!?" she shouted.

"W-w-w-we're sorry, Mrs Ginger," replied Broccoli timidly, "Callisto kicked our only ball into that garden and Charon opted to get it…"

"That's NOT an excuse," snapped Veggie to his oldest son, "You know FULL WELL how dangerous guard dogs are!"

Broccoli flinched as Ginger then shot Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry and added, "Especially to macaws of a species that is extremely close to the brink of extinction! Charon could have been KILLED!"

Charon, at this, raised his head.

"Brink of extinction?" he repeated.

"You know what she means, son," growled Pluto, "We're the last family of glaucous macaws alive and we cannot afford to lose even ONE our chicks for we are extremely valuable!"

"And because of that, as well as disobeying us and your babysitters," added Lapis Lazuli, "You're grounded for a month!"

Charon, at this, flinched and bowed his head in shame.

"And I think our kittens and puppies and whoever else was with them will be grounded for a month as well," added Dash, "For letting Charon into the garden and putting his life at risk at the jaws of those guard dogs."

At this, Oberon, Charlotte, Callisto, Titan, Tethys, Dione and Rhea bowed their heads in shame. Esmeralda who stood beside Uranus frowned when she saw the guilty looks on their faces.

"Looks like the punishment had projected onto you seven as well," she said, "Especially you, Oberon."

Jupiter and Ruby then eyed Callisto.

"Definitely," spat Jupiter, making Callisto flinch. Saturn and Orquidea also looked at Titan, Tethys, Dione and Rhea and Zephyr, Brisa and Venus glared at Charlotte with the same looks on their faces as well. Then Travis asked, "Was anyone else with Broccoli and this lot when Charon went into that garden?"

"No," said Broccoli.

"Good," said Sunset. Turning to Ónix, Inky and Elsa, Jupiter said, "Can you please be more careful while you watch over our offspring, you three? We don't want anything like this happening again."

"It better NOT, Jupiter," said Inky in agreement, "When Elsa and I saw that those playing ball were missing while we were talking to Chico and his group of five toucans, we panicked until we heard barking."

At this, the toucans led by Chico stood in the background, looking ashamed. They were all toco toucans like Rafael and were related. Just then the other chicks ran in and gathered around the adult macaws, dogs and cats. When Justin, Matilda and Virgil saw that their sister Charlotte had been grounded for a month, they were saddened. Justin was wearing earphones for he had been listening to some music on an Ipod. He had an Ipod, one like Carla's. Zephyr then gave the three chicks a stern look.

"Let this be a lesson to you three," he said firmly, "You MUST obey your elders and babysitters' rules, especially regarding safety. Your sister here just allowed Charon to put himself in danger of those two guard dogs a while ago and she's been grounded for a month."

The three siblings of Charlotte, at this, glared at their sister in disapproval.

"Oh, great," muttered Justin who had one headphone ear plug removed with a talon, "Then that means you can't play with the rest of us for a month."

"Why did you have to get into trouble, especially on New Year's Eve?" muttered Matilda. Virgil also gave a groan of disapproval as Charlotte only looked back at him with an ashamed face. Then Dash said, "But since it's New Year's Eve, we'll let you misbehaved kids watch the fireworks."

"The fireworks? Oh my, they'll be going off soon," said Ónix, "I'd better check the clock."

However, before the black cockatoo could fly off to look for a clock or watch; that had already been done by one of the other bird babysitters, a galah and a friend of Ónix.

"POSTS, EVERYONE, IT'S NEARLY MIDNIGHT!" she cried as she looked at the watch and saw what time it was. It was five minutes till midnight. Upon hearing this, the group scattered. The macaw and cockatoo families flew up to the top of Susan and Lucy's house's roof while Dash and Veggie quickly took their families to a suitable watching position. The babysitters including Inky, Ónix and Elsa also rushed off to join the other birds and dogs that had been dancing on the dancefloor. Outside the dogs and birds' dancefloor, Susan, Lucy and their friends had also taken up their positions ready to watch the imminent firework display as someone prepared to light the set up fireworks.

"FIVE MINUTES TILL MIDNIGHT," shouted a human. On the roof, Jupiter and his family and the feathered members of his group were gathered. Jupiter had his wings slung around Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. On Jupiter's left stood Saturn with Orquidea and their large brood of seven chicks, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus and on Jupiter's right stood Uranus with Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. Oberon's four sisters were disappointed with their younger brother for getting into trouble much like Charlotte's three siblings were with her. To the right of Uranus and his family, Neptune stood with Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo; Ceres stood with Cobalto, Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur; and Pluto stood with Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor. To the left of Saturn and his large family stood Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette; and Venus with Zephyr, Brisa, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil; Mars with Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre; and finally, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa. Amongst the crowd of dogs, Veggie and his mate Catina and kittens Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy and Collette, together with Dash, Ginger, Eduarda, Esperanza, Allevena, James and Danny stood, ready to watch the night sky erupt with fireworks. Then five minutes later, the countdown began.

"…FIVE… FOUR… THREE… TWO… ONE… HAPPY NEW YEAR!" cried the crowd of humans and within seconds, the night sky above Rio exploded with a dazzling display of reds, greens, blues, yellows, pinks, whites and various other firework colours. In Susan and Lucy's neighbourhood, the person in charge of the fireworks had lit up the rockets' fuses and had quickly retreated. Then seconds later, the rockets shot up into the sky and exploded with bangs accompanied by a supernova of flares. In front of the Christ the Redeemer Statue, dozens and dozens of fireworks exploded. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago watched the display from one of the shoulders of the Jesus figure, though Blu had come out singed after getting caught in the fireworks! While the fireworks exploded in the sky, Jupiter and his group watched on Susan and Lucy's house's roof.

"WHOOOAAA!" cried the chicks in awe.

"You know the United Kingdom is often the country that celebrates Guy Fawkes Night?" said Saturn to the others with a smile.

"Guy Fawkes?" repeated Orquidea, "Who is Guy Fawkes?"

"Guy Fawkes was a human who was involved in the attempted assassination of King James I, a monarch of England," said Uranus, "It's a bit complicated especially since it's in the human history of another country."

"I wouldn't understand any of it anyway," said Esmeralda.

"Neither would I," said Orquidea. Then the group of birds continued watching the fireworks as they continued exploding in the night sky.

 **Did anyone guess what the ball was in this chapter? I think it was a good idea to include a little Easter Egg referencing a bunch of films made by a company other than Blue Sky Studios since I've sometimes seen references in one company's films to characters or iconic things in another company's films (Eg in one scene of the film 'Osmosis Jones', Pikachu from the Pokemon franchise makes a cameo appearance)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- breakfast and a flight to Susan and Lucy's house**

A few days had passed since New Year's Day. Activities in Rio and in Tujica Forest and other parts of the Blu Bird Sanctuary had returned to normal. In one part of the Blu Bird Sanctuary, a family of six Spix macaws plus a relative had just woken up, the sounds of greetings and chick chirps emanating from the hollow entrance. Zephyr was preparing to fly outside to bring back some food for his mate Venus and their four chicks, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Unlike Blu and Jewel and their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago who lived in a birdhouse built by Tulio and nailed to a tree outside of Tulio, Linda and Fernando's cottage, Zephyr, Venus and their family including Brisa, Zephyr's sister and Venus's sister-in-law alongside the other former pet macaws of Susan and Lucy and their mates and families had chosen to live in a more natural home: in hollows provided by trees like the other avian residents of the Blu Bird Sanctuary. Zephyr and Venus's home was in a tree that had two hollows, one for Zephyr and Venus and their chicks and the other, smaller hole for Brisa. The inside of Zephyr and Venus's hollow was spacious with four compartments. Three were used for sleeping in: Zephyr and Venus shared one compartment, while the boys Justin and Virgil slept in another compartment and the girls Charlotte and Matilda slept in the third one. The chicks did not squabble over bedroom space though sometimes they did bicker like all siblings did. Brisa's hollow was below her brother, sister-in-law and nephews and nieces' hollow and was smaller with just one compartment where Brisa slept. In Zephyr and Venus's hollow, the space inside was alive with the excited chirps of their chicks.

"Can we go visit our extended family, Mom, please?" squeaked one of the boys, Justin.

"We wanna meet Uncle Jupiter, Auntie Ruby and our cousins Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto again," chirped Matilda.

"And also Uncle Blu, Auntie Jewel and our cousins Carla, Bia and Tiago too," said Virgil. Though Blu and his family were not biologically related to Venus and her family, they were still treated as though they were an extended family. The same applied to Jupiter and his family and the others despite being different species, and Travis, Dash and Veggie and their families were also included.

"And also Mr Veggie, Mr Dash and Mr Travis as well," said Charlotte.

"Okay, okay, calm down you four," said Venus with a smile, "We'll consider that after breakfast but not before, right?"

The four chicks calmed down.

"Yes, Mom," they all said in unison. Venus then looked up at Zephyr as he prepared to leave the hollow to find some fruit.

"So, it's one mango, a few berries, a pineapple and a papaya, am I right?" he said.

"Yes," said Venus.

"But that would mean two trips because I cannot carry all that back here in one flight," said Zephyr. He then looked out of the hollow and down at the entrance to Brisa's hollow.

"But I'm sure Brisa would be more than happy to help," he said, "She'll be ready to fly out and collect some fruit as well."

"I'm sure she would, my love," said Venus as she lifted Matilda off her head as she had climbed onto her shoulders and head. Then as if on cue, a cerulean form with a blue-white head fluttered up and perched on the rim of the hollow.

"To answer that question, Venus, yes I am more than happy to help," said Brisa, "I am part of your family after all. Morning."

"Morning, sis," said Zephyr, giving Brisa a hug, "Sleep well?"

"I did thanks," said Brisa as she and Zephyr broke the hug. "So, what are your plans for breakfast? What selection of fruit are you going to go after?"

"A mango, a bunch of berries, a pineapple and a papaya," said Zephyr.

"Well, I was thinking for myself a fig and a pineapple," said Brisa, "But I'll see to that when I've helped you to gather your fruit for your four cute little chicks."

She then looked at her two nephews and two nieces as they continued playing with Venus and said, "And those four can at times be a wing-ful. It's a good thing I'm here to help out when and where necessary isn't it, such as babysitting them to give you two a break," Brisa released a sigh, "And they're the latest additions to our species' dwindling population."

Zephyr smiled at the four chicks as they continued climbing over Venus, much to her amusement.

"Yeah, the number of last Spix macaws alive has risen to twelve with the birth of our four chicks," he said.

"Each Spix macaw chick is highly valued by Tulio and his team," said Venus as she held Charlotte and Justin with Virgil and Matilda flanking her, "We are, after all, one of the last remaining two families on the Blu Bird Sanctuary besides Blu and Jewel and their chicks but I still believe there could be others like us out there in the Amazon rainforest."

"Well, the only way to find out is flying out and venturing into the Amazon then, isn't it?" said Zephyr, "But enough on that subject for now. I'm getting hungry and so are the rest of you. We'll be back in a while."

He then went over to Venus and kissed her cheek and also patted each of his four kids each on the head. Brisa also gave Venus and her nephews and nieces a hug before following Zephyr.

"Okay, see you when you get back," said Venus as the two disappeared out of the hollow.

At this moment, in Jupiter and Ruby's hollow, Jupiter had just left to get his mate and four chicks some breakfast as well. As the large and burly scarlet macaw flew through the jungle, he relished the jungle air and the sound of music as many of the residents sang their mourning song. Jupiter had been glad that he had made the decision to stay in the forest of Rio as he felt that the wild was where he belonged, despite being a domesticated macaw living in London for the first fifteen years of his life. The same was true for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and the group had settled into their wild home really well. And though the nine macaws had enjoyed their lives as domestic birds under the care of Susan and Lucy and their cousins Blake, Drake and Jake in London, the UK, looking back, the domesticated life has become a foreign and former place for the nine macaws now, even though Jupiter and company still had remnants of their former life still on them, such as being able to operate electronics like mobile phones, computers and Ipods as well as read books. However, unlike Blu who took great comfort in his past life as a domesticated macaw (with a big difference in that he lived in Minnesota, the US rather than the UK) and ate mostly human food, Jupiter and company's consumption of human food was very small. Throughout their lives as pets, Jupiter and company had been fed the proper parrot food and fruit. Very rarely did any of them try anything truly classed as human food such as biscuits and cereal, though Jupiter remembered trying a cracker once. He wasn't very keen on them and Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had crossed crackers off the list. While memories of his past life as a pet scarlet macaw passed through his mind, Jupiter ran into some familiar macaws also out looking for breakfast to bring back to their mates and chicks, among them two Spix macaws.

"Morning, folks," he said, "Morning Zephyr, Brisa, and Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Cobalto and Pluto."

"Morning, Jupiter," replied Zephyr and Brisa. Then the two Spix siblings greeted the other familiar macaws. Then the group set to gathering some breakfast.

"So, how are you doing with your massive brood, Saturn?" asked Zephyr as he browsed a mango tree.

"Busy," said Saturn as he also browsed the mango tree, looking for any ripe mangoes, "With seven chicks, it's quite demanding. It's a good job Neptune and his family had chosen to live in a tree not too far from ours. Orquidea and I didn't expect to have such a massive clutch."

"It's very rare for macaws to have such a massive clutch of eggs," said Neptune nearby, "We hyacinth macaws rarely exceed three eggs in a clutch. One or two eggs are the most common number per clutch among my species, Ultramarine told me."

Nearby, Cobalto clamped a beak on the stem of a ripe mango and cut it to separate the mango from its parent plant. As he did that, the group of macaws were greeted by another familiar macaw, another green-winged macaw like Mars.

"Morning, you lot," she called. All heads turned to her.

"Morning, Ellery," the group replied in unison. Ellery then perched on a nearby branch while Jupiter and company continued browsing the mango tree. Ellery was one of Marina and Alvin's two chicks and their daughter. She had been an adolescent chick when Venus and Mercury had been chicks and her parents, Marina and Alvin had been friends of Venus's parents Erico and Clarinda and Mercury's parents Thomas and Lola. Mercury then came by to browse a dragonfruit tree to pick for Sapphire, for dragonfruit was her favourite fruit.

"Boy, you sure have grown since Albert, my brother and I saw you as chicks," said Ellery as she watched Mercury then pick a dragonfruit, "It's hard to believe that you're now a family guy with a mate and three beautiful daughters. Your parents would have been so proud that one of their sons had started a family of his own. Daddy told me what had happened to your father."

Mercury perched onto the branch next to Ellery to examine the dragonfruit.

"I couldn't believe what that infamous Nigel had done to him, to be honest," he said, "I had been disturbed for a whole week after learning what had happened to him."

"Nigel was a downright brute," muttered Ellery, "I'm surprised that he's still alive but I'm glad he's not able to fly again."

Mercury shivered at the mentioning of that cockatoo's name. The white form he had seen in his flashbacks had been Nigel and what that wicked cockatoo had done when he and Venus were chicks had traumatised him and Venus for life. Zephyr then touched down next to Mercury, a mango in his talons.

"I couldn't believe what Mercury and Venus had been through as chicks either," he said, "It's just as terrifying as what Lapis Lazuli had been through with those bats, and Jewel, Brisa and I had been through with that fire."

"We have something in common," said Brisa as she browsed a papaya tree nearby, "We seem to have both lost our parents…"

As she spoke, Uranus's voice called them.

"Hey, guys have a look at this," he called, "I've never seen this sort of fruit before. What is it, a coconut?"

At this, the group left the mango tree and dragonfruit tree and flew over to Uranus. He held something in his talon, a large brown ball attached by a long stem. Jupiter looked at the fruit.

"I don't know," he said, "It probably is."

Zephyr, however, knew what sort of fruit this thing was.

"It's not a coconut," he said, "Coconuts come from a type of palm tree. This fruit is a Brazil nut."

"A what?" asked Uranus.

"A Brazil nut?" asked Mercury.

"We've never seen one before," said Mars. Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto all muttered the same thing in agreement. Then Cobalto landed. He had his talons full of foraged fruit.

"You probably wouldn't since you six had spent a large part of your lives as human's pet macaws," he said, "But these Brazil nuts are more abundant in the Amazon. The Spix and red macaw tribes share a large grove of Brazil nut trees while the blue-and-gold macaw tribe has two Brazil nut trees right near their home area."

Pluto then found another Brazil nut.

"Here's another one," he said. The group moved over and looked at the Brazil nut. Then Zephyr interrupted.

"Well, I think we should resume our task," he said, "We've got families to feed and we don't have time to be chatting about Brazil nuts."

"Why don't we pick these nuts and take them back with us?" asked Brisa, "Venus hasn't seen one either but I'm sure she and the kids would love to try one."

"But there are only two," said Uranus, "We can't distribute two Brazil nuts among all of us."

"I know," said Zephyr, "Why don't we vote on who will get the Brazil nuts?"

"I think that's a good idea," said Jupiter, "Therefore we won't enter into conflict over them."

"That, sadly, was part of my tribe's conflict with the red tribe," said Zephyr, "We shared a Brazil nut grove but due to a limiting number of Brazil nuts, we Spix macaws and the red macaws often met at loggerheads with each other. But anyway, let's vote on who will get these Brazil nuts. I'm getting a bit impatient."

Then he said, "So, who would like to take one of these Brazil nuts?"

As he asked this question, only Jupiter put his wing up. Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune did not seem to bother.

"You take the other Brazil nut, Zephyr and Brisa," said Mars, "Chiquitita told me that she isn't keen on Brazil nuts and I'm not bothered anyway."

"We're not bothered either," said Neptune, "With only two Brazil nuts, it's not worth the hassle."

"So you and Jupiter can take them," said Pluto. Mercury, Uranus and Cobalto also said the same thing.

"Alright," said Zephyr and with that, he took the first Brazil nut in his talon and cut the stem with his beak. Jupiter also took the other Brazil nut and snapped its stem with his beak. Brisa looked on in amazement.

"You already know how to pick a Brazil nut?" she said.

"Ruby taught me how to use my beak to pick fruit," said Jupiter as he held the Brazil nut in a talon, "And that skill's come in handy."

He then looked down at the Brazil nut and said, "Ruby and our four chicks, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are going to love this, hopefully. Anyway, let's return to foraging."

And with that, the group of macaws scattered to look for more fruit. While Zephyr and Brisa foraged, Ellery the green-winged macaw flew alongside them.

"Did you know that Venus's father and mother had dreamed of venturing into the Amazon, you two?" she asked, "In the hope that they would find more Spix macaws?"

"We know that already," said Zephyr as he carried the fruit in his talons and browsed a pineapple tree, "But it's not surprising really, our species is so incredibly rare."

"The same is true for Mercury's species, the Lear's macaw," said Brisa as she flew in with another pineapple, "But Pluto's species, the glaucous macaw, I'm not so sure about. I always thought that the glaucous macaw is extinct."

"I don't think there are other birds like Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks, to be honest," said Ellery doubtfully, "Apart from those six, we've never even seen one of those grey-headed blue macaws around here at all. I believe they're practically extinct with only Pluto and his family being the only known living glaucous macaws."

"Well, we'll never know," said Zephyr as he picked some berries, "Only time will tell."

"Anyway, if you don't mind, we'd like to collect the last of the fruit and head back to our hollow," said Brisa, "Venus and my nephews and nieces will be expecting us."

"Okay, enjoy your forage," said Ellery and with that she flew away, leaving Zephyr and Brisa to gather the last of their fruit of choice. As soon as they had finished collecting the fruit, Zephyr and Brisa began to make their flight back to their hollows where Venus and the four chicks were waiting. As soon as the two siblings had returned, Zephyr called out, "We're back."

Then as soon as he and Brisa entered the hollow, a pattering of talons filled the hollow room. Venus followed Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil as the four chicks gathered around Zephyr and Brisa as they set the fruit down.

"What took you both so long?" she asked.

"Oh, we ran into our extended family macaws Jupiter, Mars and the others," said Zephyr as he tried to calm the excited four chicks down.

"Okay, boys and girls, let's not start squabbling over breakfast, shall we?" said Zephyr firmly. Venus then came over and saw a large brown coconut-like thing in Zephyr's claws.

"What's that brown ball?" she asked.

"It's a Brazil nut," said Brisa, "Uranus and Pluto found this one and another but since there were only two and we couldn't share them amongst all of us, Jupiter opted to take the other Brazil nut while Zephyr and I took this one."

Venus then had a look at the large brown ball.

"I've read about Brazil nuts in one of Susan and Lucy's ecology books but I never expected to see one for real," she said intrigued.

"We actually didn't expect to find two Brazil nuts in this part of the Brazilian jungle," said Zephyr, "But now that we have brought one of them back, I would like to teach our chicks how to open one."

"I've never had a Brazil nut before either," said Venus.

"Well in that case, now's your chance," said Brisa with a smile.

"So how do you open a Brazil nut?" asked Venus.

"It's simple," said Zephyr, "You have to use your beak to chip away the inedible outer shell but it can be a bit fiddly. When I and Brisa were chicks and Mom and Dad taught us how to open a Brazil nut, it took me several tries to open my first one. Brisa got it right the first time."

"You'll see how we open a Brazil nut in a minute," said Brisa as Zephyr commanded the four chick to form an arc around him. Venus then came and sat down beside Justin as Zephyr then began to explain how a Brazil nut was opened. Then after he had finished explaining the process, Zephyr told the five members of the audience to watch as he clamped his beak in to the shell. Venus and the chicks watched on as Zephyr fiddled with the shell until finally, he managed to make a crack. After this he chipped away the now cracked shell and exposed the nut's edible innards.

"And that is how we open Brazil nuts," finished Zephyr as he showed the group the opened Brazil nut, "I really wish I could have you five apply the skill but sadly Brazil nuts are likely to be extremely rare around here."

He then prepared to hand the Brazil nut to the group and said, "Now, I would like each one of you to take a piece each. No fighting. Understood?"

"Yes, Dad," said Justin.

"No problem, Father," said Charlotte.

"Perfectly, Daddy," said Matilda.

"Yes, Father," said Virgil. Zephyr then smiled and handed the Brazil nut to Justin. Justin took one piece and Zephyr passed it to Charlotte and she took another piece. Then Matilda took a piece and Virgil also took one. Zephyr then moved the Brazil nut and presented it to Venus.

"Want some, my star flower?" he asked. Venus then hooked her beak onto one of the pieces and removed it from its shell. As she ate it, her amber eyes lit up.

"It's delicious," she said, "I've never really had one of these at all."

"Glad you like it, then," said Brisa with a smile. Then Zephyr and Brisa finished off the Brazil nut before Zephyr put the empty shell aside. Then he set to distributing the rest of the fruit to the chicks and Venus while Brisa began to eat her selection of fruit. Soon, the family of seven Spix macaws were eating. A little while later, while the Spix macaws were eating away, flapping sounds were heard. A cobalt blue and yellow-orange macaw with a cobalt blue bib-like mark on his throat perched on the rim of their hollow entrance. The macaw knocked.

"Come," said Zephyr as he ate a piece of mango.

"Hey, Zephyr, Venus and Brisa," said the blue-throated macaw named Cobalto, "Are you planning on flying to Susan and Lucy's house after breakfast? Ceres and our sons Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur are insisting on visiting Veggie, Dash, Travis and their families. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto, Neptune, Mars and Mercury also would like to visit our mammalian and cockatoo friends, and also Rafael, Blu and their families."

"Actually, we were considering that too, Cobalto," said Zephyr, "But we're still eating breakfast."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Cobalto, "I thought you'd have finished by now since Ceres, my sons and I have finished our breakfast. But the reason why I came here was I was wondering if you could meet the rest of us at Jupiter and Ruby's hollow so that we could fly down to Susan and Lucy's house together?"

"That sounds like a great idea," said Venus as she ate a berry.

"Okay, we'll be in a few minutes," said Zephyr, "We need to finish our breakfast first but we'll see you then."

"Okay, see you," said Cobalto and with that he flew away, leaving the Spix macaw family to continue eating. Soon, all seven Spix macaws had finished their fill. Zephyr and Venus then did away with the leftovers and empty fruit shells and seeds. After the two had done that, Zephyr said, "Right, are we ready?"

"Yeah," cried the four chicks together in excitement. Venus smiled and nodded. Then Zephyr led his family to the entrance to the hollow and said, "Alright then, here we go. Stay by our sides, kids and don't wander off."

And with that, he spread his wings and took off. Brisa and Venus followed and the four chicks flew out last. Soon the seven blue birds were on their way to Jupiter's hollow. As they flew through the jungle air, Justin relished the breeze through his feathers while Charlotte looked around at the neighbourhood. She saw a family of golden conures having breakfast and chatting with other birds. Matilda and Virgil, however, kept their eyes on their parents and aunt. As the seven Spix macaws passed by, birds waved to them and shouted 'Hi'. Zephyr, Brisa and Venus called 'Hi' back and flew on. The group continued flying on until the tree in which Jupiter and Ruby lived in melted into view. On the branches of the tree, six scarlet macaws, two large and four small, perched waiting for the Spix macaws. Zephyr saw them and flew on, leading his mate, sister and four chicks to Jupiter and his family. As soon as they met, the seven Spix macaws perched before the six scarlet macaws. As the chicks met, they gave each other a hug or talon-fist bumps. Justin did that with Io while Virgil did the same with Ganymede. As the chicks greeted each other, the adults began to talk.

"How did you like the Brazil nut?" asked Zephyr.

"Oh, I wasn't so keen on it," said Jupiter, "But Ruby here loves them. She and our chicks finished off the rest of the fruit."

"At least you got your first try of a Brazil nut, anyway," said Ruby with a smile.

"So, are we going to fly off to Susan and Lucy's house?" asked Venus.

"We're just waiting for the others to turn up," said Jupiter. Then as if on cue, five blue-throated macaws appeared. Cobalto, Ceres, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul touched down next to the Spix macaw family.

"Okay, we're ready," said Cobalto, "Neptune and his family's on their way as are Uranus, Mercury and Pluto and their families; they'll be here shortly but Saturn, Mars and their families are just getting ready."

Then a few seconds later, four hyacinth macaws appeared and touched down near Jupiter and his family but as Neptune and Ultramarine landed on the branch, they shook it slightly due to their size and weight.

"Whoa, sorry," said Neptune as Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto wobbled a bit, "That's the thing with being such big macaws. We tend to shake any branch we land on a bit due to our weight."

"Are the others on their way?" asked Jupiter.

"Uranus, Mercury and Pluto and their families are," replied Ultramarine, "They'll be here…"

As if on cue, a family of five Lear's macaws, six glaucous macaws and seven great green macaws appeared and touched down around the group.

"We're here right now, Ultramarine," said Mercury with an amused smile.

"Mars and Saturn are also on their way," said Pluto. Then moments later, a family of nine blue-and-gold macaws and a family of five green-winged macaws appeared.

"Hi, sorry we're late," said Saturn as he gathered his large clutch of chicks around himself and Orquidea as they landed, "Our breakfast took quite a while due to the size of our family."

"We offered to fly with Saturn and his family on our way here," said Mars. As the chicks met, they all greeted each other as Jupiter then spoke up.

"Okay, then, are we all ready?" he said to the other macaws.

"Yes we are," said Mercury. The other macaws nodded in agreement.

"Good," said Jupiter, "Now as we fly to Susan and Lucy's house, I want us all to stay together…" he then eyed the chicks and sternly continued, "…especially you kids. I do not want any of you wandering off. The last thing we need is the hassle of finding you. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Dad," said Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto together.

"Perfectly, Uncle Jupiter," said Justin. Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil nodded in agreement as did the other chicks. Phobos and Deimos however had been looking at something and had not heard Jupiter's command. Seeing that they had not been listening, Alexandre nudged the two and they nodded.

"Good," said Jupiter, "Now, off we go. Make sure you stay by your parents and elders' sides, chicks. Let's go and meet Veggie, Dash, Travis and their families."

This was met by the cheers of the chicks and soon, the entire group of blue, dark blue, yellow, red, green and grey birds was airborne. Jupiter and Ruby flew in front with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flying alongside them. Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre flew behind the scarlet macaws. To Mars and his family's left flew Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus while to Mars and his family's right flew Zephyr, Venus, Brisa, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Behind Mars and his mate and three chicks, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette flew alongside Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor. Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo, Triton and Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio flew behind the Lear's and glaucous macaw families and behind them, flew Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon.

The little flock flew through the trees. As the group flew on, Phoebe was excited.

"You know something, I would love to have Bia and Carla join us when we become old enough to explore the jungle on our own, Pops," she said to Mercury.

"Well, at the moment you're too young, daughter," said Mercury.

"I would like to meet a harpy eagle," said Jasmine, "Have you met a harpy eagle, Dad?"

"No," said Mercury, "But your mother Sapphire will have done."

"Those birds of prey are extremely dangerous especially to us macaws," said Sapphire, "You don't want to be anywhere near one."

"What are they like, Mom?" asked Annette.

"Titanic and deadly," said Sapphire sternly, "But let's stay focussed on this flight."

Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine did so and flew on alongside their parents. The group soon flew over the Vista Chinesa.

"Look, there are Jack and Jill," said Saturn. On the Vista Chinesa, Jack and Jill were doing some research as part of their bird ecology course and were writing something on a sheet of paper each. As they saw the colourful flock of birds fly over them, they smiled.

"Hi, Jupiter," shouted Jack.

"Hi, Saturn, Uranus, Venus," shouted Jill. Jupiter and some of the others squawked back in reply and continued flying on. Phobos looked back at the twin brother and sister humans and turned to Mars.

"Who are those two, Dad?" he asked.

"They're Jack and Jill, son," said Mars, "They were once part of a second group of smugglers but have abandoned the illegal business and joined Tulio's team in helping with tasks on the sanctuary such as caring for the birds. They're training for the role at the moment. Catina used to also be part of that group of smugglers and was one of their cats, but she had also ditched that business and had been adopted by Susan and Lucy, which you should already know."

"Fernando, Tulio and Linda's adopted son was also once part of a team of smugglers, the first group that had that psycho cockatoo called Nigel," said Chiquitita, "But much like Jack and Jill, he had given up smuggling to help out on the Blu Bird Sanctuary as well."

Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre gave their parents a confused look. They could not imagine anyone like Fernando to be part of a group that often treated captured birds like dirt, let alone kidnap Blu and Jewel from Tulio's Aviary. Pushing away that thought, the three green-winged macaw chicks continued following their parents and the others over the city of Rio. Below the flock, the citizens of Rio were up to their usual business. Cars were driving about along the roads and the footpaths (sidewalks in America) were swamped with dozens of pedestrians as they walked to different destinations. The marketplaces were also busy, with stall owners selling fruit and other objects from their stands to customers. Jupiter and the group continued flying over the city until Susan sand Lucy's house emerged into view. The house had a large garden and in one corner of the garden stood a rather large tree. On the trunk of the tree was a birdhouse, which Jupiter knew was Travis and his family's living space.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- breaking news**

While Jupiter and his group approached the house, inside the house, Veggie, Dash, Ginger and Catina were keeping their kittens and puppies occupied while Travis was reading a book about a baby deer to his hybrid offspring, Eustace, Rosa and Milo. Sunset was absent. She was out somewhere. While Travis continued reading the book to the three cockatoo chicks, Danny and Collette were having a game of chess. Chess was Danny's favourite game and he was very good at it. This was demonstrated as he managed to find a way to take out Collette's queen piece.

"Oh, no, my best piece," muttered Collette playfully.

"Sorry, but it was in the right spot for my knight piece to take it out of the game," replied Danny playfully. Collette smiled and prepared to make her next move. On the sofa, Eduarda, Elsa, Broccoli and Thomas were watching TV. James was listening to some music. Like Carla and Justin, he had an Ipod and a set of headphones and liked music. Avellana was reading a book on ecology while Esperanza was playing a game of 'Attack of the Space Aliens' (a space alien shooting game like 'Space Invaders') on Susan's laptop. Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina were sitting and talking together while at the same time watching their kittens and puppies.

"Boy, I can't believe that our two owners had gone out into the Amazon rainforest for the first time," said Veggie, "I'm sure they'll find some interesting animals and plants."

"It's part of their graduate project," said Dash, "They're out to help Tulio and Linda find more Spix macaws."

"It's going to be a difficult task," said Catina, "Since the Spix macaw is likely to be extinct in the wild with only Blu and Venus's families being the last of the species alive."

Dash, Ginger and Veggie all nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the four heard a knock on the window. Collette and Danny looked up and saw some colourful feathered forms perched outside the window.

"Oh, Mom, Dad, Mr Dash, Mrs Ginger, Mr Jupiter's outside the window," said Collette. At this, Veggie looked up and saw that it was indeed Jupiter who was tapping the glass with his beak.

"Looks like Jupiter has come to visit us," said Dash. Veggie was about to walk towards the worktop when Travis flew in.

"I've got it," he said and with that he perched near the window and turned its handle with a talon. After he had opened it, Jupiter greeted him.

"Hi, Jupiter," said Travis with a smile, "Saturn, Ruby, Orquidea, what are you lot doing here?"

"We've come to visit," said Jupiter, "Our chicks had been insisting on it during breakfast."

Travis then stepped aside and opened the window wider to allow the macaw families to fly in. Jupiter, Ruby and their four chicks went in first, followed by Saturn and his family, and then Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Mercury, Mars and then Venus and her family. As soon as the nine families of macaws touched down onto the floor, Dash, Veggie, Ginger and Catina came over and gave the group a hug while the kittens, puppies and chicks also greeted each other. Eduarda, Collette, Thomas and Broccoli had dropped down from the sofa to greet their bird friends while Eustace, Rosa and Milo joined in the greetings. After Dash broke the hung with Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, he smiled.

"Well, what brings you and your families here, then?" he asked.

"We've come to visit you," said Jupiter. Then Esmeralda saw that Sunset was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where's Sunset?" she asked.

"She's gone out to visit Blu, Jewel and their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago at Tulio and Linda's cottage," said Catina, "To see if they want to go out with Travis's family for a bit."

"That's what we were planning on doing," said Saturn, "After we've been to see you lot."

Veggie then smiled at Saturn's seven chicks.

"So, how are you doing with your massive brood, Saturn and Orquidea?" he asked.

"Oh, busy," said Orquidea, "And at times strenuous but we're doing fine."

Veggie then looked from Mimas to Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus closely and was fascinated at how similar they looked to their parents, especially Titan.

"You know, it's fascinating how kids could look like their parents or even their aunts and uncles," he said, "I know Charlotte looks very like Brisa despite her being Charlotte's aunt."

"Oh, it's a genetic thing," said Zephyr nearby as he stood with his wing slung around Venus, "Brisa and I look quite like our parents Tornado and Gael."

Brisa, who stood next to Venus and with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil standing around her, smiled. As Zephyr said this, Matilda went over to Broccoli as he helped himself to some vegetarian cat food and some watermelon, one of his favourite fruit, from a cupboard.

"And Ganymede certainly does look like his father," said Veggie as he compared Ganyemde's features with Jupiter's. Both the father and son were large and had a burly build. However, Ganymede had blue wing flight feathers and parts of his tail and red feathers like his mother Ruby rather than vermillion feathers and teal-turquoise wings and tail parts like Jupiter.

"The phenotype of the offspring is determined by the genotype they obtain from their parents through inheritance," said Ganymede. Veggie smiled at Ganymede's scientific speak.

"He's just like Bia and Blu," he said, "Blu ought to be fascinated with your son, Jupiter."

"I'm probably not that much of a scientific bird myself like Blu but I am interested in a variety of sciences like astronomy," said Jupiter. As he said this, Broccoli began to eat the small slice of watermelon with Matilda nibbling away at it. Broccoli looked at the Spix macaw chick with uncertainty. Nearby, Eduarda and Elsa had returned to watching the TV. Some of the chicks, among them Uranus and Esmeralda's five, followed them. Veggie then turned back to Mimas and her six siblings.

"And I sure hope we're not having any mischievous antics, are we?" he said a little firmly.

"No, Mr Veggie," said Mimas, Tethys, Dione and Rhea in unison, "Mom and Dad would probably not want us being naughty, anyway."

"Well, that's good to hear," said Orquidea. Suddenly, Zephyr's voice sounded.

"Matilda, could you come away from Broccoli while he's eating please?" he said. At this, all eyes turned and looked at Matilda and Broccoli.

"You shouldn't be eating with one of Veggie and Catina's kittens," added Zephyr. Venus and Brisa also gave Matilda a firm look. At this, Matilda looked up and backed away from Broccoli. Catina then whispered under her breath, "This isn't natural for a chick to eat with a kitten."

"I think it's best if you leave me," said Broccoli to Matilda, "Your Dad, Mom and aunt aren't so keen on you eating the watermelon with me."

Matilda did so and flew back to Zephyr and Venus's side. Veggie sighed and shook his head slightly.

"That's the umpteenth time one of your chicks has attempted to eat with one of our kittens, Zephyr and Venus," he muttered with a frown.

"I think it's about time we did something about it," said Catina in agreement. Dash and Ginger nodded in agreement.

"We don't mind our kittens and puppies playing with your chicks but certain activities like eating together are not really appropriate," said Dash.

"Yeah, especially when you've got to consider other cats and dogs, especially cats," said Ginger. Suddenly, a flapping of wings sounded at the window, followed by the appearance of a light pink form with a vivid red, yellow and pinkish white crest.

"Sunset," said Travis and with that, he went over to his Major Mitchell's cockatoo mate. The others followed. Sunset then turned to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and the others.

"Hey, Jupiter," she said, "I didn't expect you and your group to come and visit us. By the way, have any of you seen Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago lately? I can't find them anywhere."

"Could you find them in their birdhouse or in Tulio and Linda's cottage?" asked Jupiter.

"No," said Sunset with a shake of her head, "I've looked around the birdhouse, inside it and through every window of Tulio and Linda's cottage but could not find any sign of them. I even asked some of the birds that lived near Blu and Jewel's tree but they replied that they haven't seen them."

Jupiter, at this, looked back at the other macaws and animals.

"Strange, really," said Mercury nearby, "We were going to pay them a visit after we have left here."

"Why would Blu and Jewel leave?" asked Sapphire. Veggie then had a thought.

"Well, maybe they went for a flight out or perhaps taken their three chicks on an outing into new territory for a change of scene or to see new sights," he said.

"Yeah, perhaps to get Blu away from human things as well," said Neptune. He then frowned.

"I hope he's not influencing his two daughters and son on relying on human things," he said in a low voice, "Because you know what impact that might have on the three chicks?"

"I agree completely," said Ultramarine.

"That is why we chose to live in natural hollows to raise our chicks in a more natural environment," said Venus.

"Even though we had lived as pets in the UK," said Mars.

"Furthermore," said Zephyr, "Jewel, being a wild-born macaw like me and Brisa, wouldn't want Carla, Bia and Tiago to grow up living like humans, anyway. We birds weren't made to live like humans. We're made to live out in the natural world and in trees."

"But Blu and his family can't just leave us without letting us know," said Sunset.

"Well, maybe because I think Jewel is so impatient on getting her family out to see new sights maybe because she is concerned for her chicks," suggested Ruby, "And also because she wants Blu to start living more like a proper bird?"

"I think that's a reasonably accurate reason," said Jupiter, "I remember Jewel telling me the other day, the day before New Year's Eve that she was concerned for her kids' future and that Blu was living too much in the domestic realm…"

"I kind of agree with her," said Brisa, "I think Blu is living too much in the realm of humans. He needs to…"

Suddenly, Eduarda's voice cut her off as she shouted, "Mom, Dad, guys, Blu and Jewel are on TV!"

At this, the group was drawn towards the TV.

"Hmm, you could be right, Veggie and Ruby," said Jupiter, "Blu and Jewel and their three chicks might have flown out to see new sights…"

The group then went round to the front of the sofa and sat down as the news reporter began to open up the report from the Amazon.

"There has been an epic battle in the Amazon rainforest between the animals and the loggers today," said the reporter, a man, "But after that had subsided, Tulio and Linda have declared that that part of the Amazon, the part on which the flock of Spix macaws live…"

As the man said these words Venus's amber eyes widened in amazement.

"Looks like Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago have found more of our species," she said to Zephyr. The others were also amazed.

"… We shall now go to the Amazon rainforest," said the man, "What's happening, Chloe?"

At this, the screen turned to live from the Amazon as Chloe, another news reporter, began to speak. Behind her were some blue and red dots flying through the trees.

"Well, Alex, I've just had a word with Linda and Tulio and they have told me that this area is now a sanctuary," said Chloe, "It is an amazing sight to see so many other Spix macaws numbering in the hundreds…"

As she said these words, the camera zoomed in to film some of the magnificent blue birds. Venus widened her eyes and smile as she saw them on the screen. Zephyr and Brisa were also amazed. However, they were amazed for a different reason.

"That's the Spix macaw tribe," said Zephyr, "The tribe from which Brisa and I come from. Looks like they have survived that devastating fire after all."

"And those red birds must be from the red macaw tribe," said Ruby as she looked at the red forms flying alongside the blue forms. With some of the blue forms were blue and yellow feathered forms and a few large dark navy birds. Orquidea stared at the blue and yellow birds and the navy blue birds.

"Looks like my tribe and Ultramarine's clan, the Navyfeathers, have also survived the fire too," she said. Ultramarine smiled as she looked at the forms until the screen changed.

"The Spix macaw, which is an incredibly rare species of macaw so close to the brink of extinction with only two breeding pairs living under the protection of the Blu Bird Sanctuary…" said Alex and with that, the screen showed a series of pictures of Blu, Jewel, Zephyr and Venus and their chicks.

"We're famous," said Justin.

"I'm not surprised," said Brisa.

"…has now been proven that it is not entirely close to the brink of extinction after all," continued Alex, "However, this flock will need special protection, as will most of the bird flocks living around them to ensure that logging and poaching is outlawed for the protection of these birds…"

Venus continued smiling.

"I don't believe it," she whispered, "This was the dream my parents hoped would implement but Blu and his family have actually done it for them…"

"Wait, there's more," said Saturn, "Quiet everyone."

"But while Linda and Tulio are now setting the Spix macaws' home up as a protected reserve," said Alex, "We have just received an important announcement from a team of graduate bird ecologists from another part of the Amazon rainforest, not far from the Spix macaws' habitat…"

"Oh, in case you're wondering where Susan and Lucy are," whispered Dash to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Mercury, Venus and Mars, "They're out in the Amazon rainforest…"

The TV screen then changed to another part of the Amazon rainforest where the group of graduate bird ecologists were. The group leader, a woman, was holding up a dark navy blue feather. Behind her were some of the graduates and Saturn managed to pick out Susan among the group.

"We believe we may have encountered a wild Lear's macaw," said the woman, whose name was Amy, "The individual bird was supposedly spotted by Lucy who had managed to capture an image of it with her Ipad but by the time she called us and we turned up, it had gone but it did leave behind this feather…"

Then it was Mercury and Sapphire's turn to be filled with amazement.

"We might not be the only Lear's macaws in this part of Brazil," whispered Mercury. The screen then turned to show Lucy hold her Ipad with the picture of the bird up close to the camera.

"Lucy's the first one to spot that bird and even take a picture of it?" said Travis with a smile, "She should be honoured."

"We apologise for this picture not being very clear," said Amy, "But this is definitely not a hyacinth macaw. This feather is too short to be from a hyacinth but based on Lucy's experience with the male Lear's macaw named Mercury, the one she and her sister Susan kept as a pet before releasing him into the wild with the female Lear's macaw where they had three chicks, she could tell it's definitely a Lear's macaw feather…"

The picture of the bird on Lucy's Ipad was blurry but Mercury could make out the shape of the form's outline. It was dark navy blue like him and Sapphire and there was a blurry streak around where the creature's eye would be. Mars was doubtful.

"It looks more like Neptune than Mercury or Sapphire," he said, "It's not very clear at all…"

"We hope this is first evidence of a flock of Lear's macaws living in the Amazon," said Amy, "And hopefully, we'll find more evidence to prove it. If indeed there is a flock of Lear's macaws, their home will be added to the sanctuary area set up by Linda and Tulio so that these birds will also be protected."

"We'll have to go out there and help Lucy and her graduate group find those macaws," said Mercury excitedly, "That was the same determination my parents had in finding more of our species."

"That could be my tribe," said Sapphire. Then Amy on TV continued, "And this is not the only announcement I have to make. I have just received a call from my colleague Jeremy who is on an expedition in another part of this jungle area and he has sent me a picture via text if I could bring it up..."

Then after some fiddling on her Iphone, she finally found the message and opened the picture.

"Here it is," she said and held the Iphone screen up close to the camera and continued, "Jeremy and his team believes that they had just encountered what appears to be a glaucous macaw. Again this picture is not very clear but it has a grey head and a soft turquoise body…"

Then Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's eyes widened in awe.

"We might not be the only family of glaucous macaws after all," said Lapis Lazuli.

"That is amazing news," said Alex, "The glaucous macaw is another critically endangered species of macaw that ornithologists assumed that, like the Spix macaw, is entirely extinct in the wild with only one family of six individuals living on the Blu Bird Sanctuary…"

Then a picture of Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks appeared on the screen.

"We're famous as well," said Blueberry.

"Jeremy has told me that he and his team hope to find those glaucous macaws, perhaps a flock of them, in that part of the Amazon," said Amy, "But if we do, those birds will be included in the Sanctuary too. We'll keep you informed if we make any more important discoveries."

"Alright, thanks, Amy," said Alex and then the screen turned back to the studio as Alex began to move on to the next report. Lapis Lazuli stood there gazing into space dreamily.

"I don't believe it," she crooned, "We might not be the only glaucous macaws in the world after all."

"It was an amazing find," said Veggie.

"Yeah, definitely," said Travis, "I'd strongly advise you to go out there and find them."

"That's what Venus and I would like to do," said Mercury excitedly, "This is what our parents had dreamed of and hoped would do when we were chicks: find more of our species in the Amazon rainforest."

His face fell as he said, "Too bad that had been cut short when those smugglers intruded into our home and my siblings and parents were killed and I had been smuggled to London…"

"Same here," said Venus. Zephyr then smiled.

"Well, here's your chance," he said, "Why don't you follow that dream for your parents?"

"Yeah, absolutely," said Jupiter, "I would like to go out into the Amazon as well and meet those scarlet and green-winged macaws."

"So would I," said Mars. Chiquitita and Ruby, however, gave the two a look. Zephyr and Brisa also looked at the two macaws.

"Um, I'm not sure about that, Jupiter," said Ruby.

"Why?" asked Jupiter quizzically.

"I'm not sure whether my and Brisa's tribe and Ruby and Chiquitita's are still in conflict with each other or not," said Zephyr, "Because if the Spix tribe and the red tribe still are, you're going to have problems."

"Same with the green tribe and the Lear's tribe if the green tribe's still alive," said Esmeralda as she looked at Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, "For they've been in conflict as well and still might be in conflict now."

"Yeah, you've seen it between me and Esmeralda before we became friends," said Sapphire, "And also between Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa, and Ruby and Chiquitita."

And with that she nodded to four of the five macaws present with the group. Mercury looked up at her and Esmeralda and said, "Well, I'd still like to venture out into the Amazon and find those Lear's macaws, Sapphire and Esmeralda. It had what Mom and Dad had wanted to do when I and my two brothers and sister were old enough, so I would like to do it."

"If we do," said Sapphire still with uncertainty, "We could run into have problems."

Uranus looked at Esmeralda and Sapphire in agreement with Mercury

"I'm sure your tribes would have made peace at some point," he said, "And I would love to go out and meet more great green macaws…"

"The green tribe consists of great green and military macaws, Uranus," said Esmeralda.

"Is it?" asked Uranus, "And if that what Mercury wants, I'd be more than happy to go along."

"It would do our kids good as well, especially those of Venus, Zephyr, Mercury and Venus," said Mars and with that he looked at Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and then at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, "Since their species is so rare. They could do with other chicks like them around them."

"I agree," said Chiquitita. Then Cobalto and Ceres smiled.

"Well, if those macaw tribes and clans have survived," Cobalto said, "I hope my clan and the Bluewing hyacinth macaw clan have survived the fire as well. I would love to take Ceres and our sons to meet more blue-throated macaws."

Azul, Wilbur and Aurelio smiled at this idea. Neptune also put on a determined face and said, "I would like to go out into the Amazon as well and meet more hyacinth macaws."

"As will I and my family," said Saturn, "To meet more blue-and-gold macaws and I think our seven chicks could do with meeting other chicks like them in the wild as well."

He then turned to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and said, "And I would like those glaucous macaws and their chicks to come with us as well. If there is a flock of glaucous macaws out in the Amazon, then it would do them good to go out and find them."

"That's what I was thinking, Neptune," said Lapis Lazuli, "It would do Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor good as well. Much like Jewel, I've been concerned for our kids' future as well like, how are they going to find mates and have chicks if they decide to do that?"

At this, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor looked up at their mother. Pluto, however, had other ideas.

"But aren't we safe here?" he asked, "I mean, the Amazon is a daunting place. There could be giant snakes, dangerous birds…"

At this, Lapis Lazuli looked at him with a frown.

"Look, Pluto, I would like you to come with us as well," she said sternly, "It would do you good to venture out into the Amazon rainforest and meet other birds like yourself. And I'm sure your parents and siblings, if you had any, would have the same dream Mercury and Venus's parents would have had, right?"

Pluto looked at her with a blank face.

"I… er… don't remember having any parents or siblings having that hope of finding other glaucous macaws," he murmured. Lapis Lazuli looked back at him and said nothing at first.

"Well, whether you like it or not," she said, "We would like to go out into the Amazon. One of the reasons is I don't want our four kids putting themselves in danger of any domestic city animal again."

And with that, Lapis Lazuli eyed Charon and said, "Especially after what happened to Charon when he was almost killed by those two Doberman dogs on New Year's Eve."

Charon, at this, sighed. Pluto then began to sulk.

"It's as if you don't like me living near Rio," he moaned.

"I didn't say that," said Lapis Lazuli, "All I'm saying is I'm getting concerned for our kids' future and I'm sure Mercury, Venus, Zephyr and Sapphire are as well."

She looked at the four macaws for backup. To Pluto's surprise, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire nodded while Mercury and Venus wore agreeing expressions. Pluto sighed and bowed his head. Then Jupiter said, "Let us talk to Pluto."

Veggie and Dash also nodded. Lapis Lazuli smiled at the burly scarlet macaw and then at Veggie and Dash and said, "Good idea."

And with that, Pluto left with Jupiter, Veggie and Dash while Lapis Lazuli turned to talk to the other macaws, Sunset and Travis.

"She seems to berate me for liking to live near a human city," moaned Pluto as Veggie and Dash sat down. Jupiter came up to him.

"Well, she's just like Jewel, Pluto," said Jupiter with a wing around Pluto's shoulders, "She's concerned for the kids' future and would like them to meet more of their species."

Pluto looked at Lapis Lazuli as she talked with Ceres and Cobalto. The blue-throated couple nodded and smiled.

"And I agree with Lapis Lazuli about our chicks as well," said Jupiter, "I would like to meet the red macaw tribe as well, though Ruby is uncertain about their relationship with the Spix macaws."

"Boy Lapis Lazuli's apparent change of attitude about us living near Rio has hit me hard," murmured Pluto, a wing on his chin and a sad look on his face, "I've always liked it here. It's been my preferred spot over London…"

"Well sometimes you have to move on, Pluto," said Dash, "You can't always stay in the same spot."

"Yeah, and I agree with Lapis Lazuli, Pluto," said Veggie, "I think you should go out there and help that group of ornithologists to find the glaucous macaws and prove their existence."

He then turned serious and said, "And I feel I must tell you this, Pluto."

Pluto, at this, looked up at the tabby cat.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, while I agree with your mate about you going out into the Amazon," said Veggie, "to meet other birds like yourself and for the sake of your kids, I have another reason to add. You need to get your chicks away from the city cats and dogs, especially cats."

Pluto gave Veggie a look.

"But I thought we were friends," he said.

"That is true," said Veggie, "But having said that however, Catina and I have noticed that some of the chicks, in particular Zephyr and Venus's youngest daughter Matilda had been attempting to eat with our kittens, particularly Broccoli, and that's not natural and it's also not good for your chicks."

Veggie then stood up and paced around Pluto and said, "Because you see, if they continue to eat with our kittens, they might assume that all cats are harmless, and that is absolutely not true. While it's true that some cats are fine with birds, those sorts of cats are few and far between."

Sitting back down again, Veggie added, "And with that false belief that all cats are harmless to birds, your chicks might attempt to hang out with other cats and that is very bad news."

"They could make themselves an easy target for those cats to catch and eat," said Jupiter. Pluto looked at him.

"Exactly," said Veggie, "So despite the fact that I'm friends with you birds and our kittens and Dash's puppies are part of your extended family, Catina, I and our kittens are, after all, your natural enemies."

"But didn't cats and birds get along without cats attempting to eat birds?" asked Pluto.

"They did before Adam sinned against God when death and predation didn't exist after God created the Earth and everything in it," said Veggie, "But now that we live in a world _after_ Adam's sin, the relationship between certain types of animals has changed. Some became prey for others, and sadly, most birds are one of those animals to become prey for cats."

"There are also some vicious dogs around as well," said Dash, "And they might not hesitate to turn you birds into a chew toy as well like how those two Doberman dogs nearly did with your son Charon."

Veggie nodded in agreement. He then stood up again and said, "So I would like you to go out there and find other glaucous macaws, and also live as wild birds."

"Lapis Lazuli will need you, anyway," said Jupiter, "She cannot raise those four chicks alone. Raising chicks, especially large broods like Venus and Saturn's, is a two parent job."

Pluto listened to Jupiter's words and at first said nothing. He then finally looked up after a few seconds of silence.

"Okay, I'll do it," he said. Jupiter, Veggie and Dash smiled.

"That's the spirit," said Veggie. Then the quartet stood up and walked back to the others.

"So when are we going to set off?" asked Pluto.

"I think we'll do so tomorrow," said Jupiter, "But we'll need plans of preparation first."

Then the male glaucous macaw, male scarlet macaw, tabby cat and greyhound returned to the others. Though Pluto was timid at the thought of going out into the Amazon, he actually wanted to find more glaucous macaws like himself. He was not going to let his timidity get the better of him. After all, it was important for his and Lapis Lazuli's chicks and the other macaws also wanted to venture out into the Amazon, especially Venus and Mercury for it had been their parents' dream to find other macaw like themselves. And even though Blu and his family, together with Rafael, Nico and Pedro had already found the Spix macaw flock, Venus and her family were soon to follow their flight path while Mercury and his family will have to pursue Mercury's parents' dream of finding other Lear's macaws like themselves on their own but with Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and their families accompanying them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- the flight to Manaus and on into the Amazon rainforest**

Jupiter and his family and friends continued to stay at Susan and Lucy's house with Veggie, Dash, Travis and their mates and families until the time finally came for the macaws to depart for the forest. After saying goodbye to Dash, Ginger and their puppies Eduarda, Esperanza, Avellana, James and Danny, Veggie, Catina and their kittens Broccoli Daisy, Collette and Thomas and Travis, Sunset and their hybrid chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and all their mates and chicks left the house and returned to the forest. They were going to prepare to fly to the Amazon tomorrow morning and were to meet, this time, the tree housing Saturn and Orquidea's hollow. After saying goodbye to each other and that they would see each other in the morning, the nine macaw families dispersed and returned to their hollows to spend what could be their final night in the jungle outside Rio. By next morning, as the sun rose into the sky to greet the day, the macaw families woke up. At Saturn and Orquidea's, Saturn was preparing his large family for the trip ahead. They had just had breakfast. While Saturn was cleaning the remains of his family's breakfast, his sixth oldest but largest son Titan was perched above him and shouting the Tarzan call, much to his father's amusement.

"Amazon rainforest, here we come," yelled Titan and then he descended from the branch and perched near his older sister, Mimas. After Saturn had finished cleaning the remains of the fruit shells and leftover fruit out of the hollow, he gave the inside of his and Orquidea's hollow one final look.

"Well, looks like this tree will become the home of perhaps another bird family while we're gone," he said with a sigh, "We might be actually moving to the Amazon to live with those other macaws, especially Venus and her family with the Spix macaw tribe…"

As he said this, Orquidea perched beside him.

"I'm afraid that might be a possibility, Saturn," she said, "Those macaw tribes and clans have apparently managed to survive the fire that happened well over ten years ago and I would like us to remain in those flocks for our kids to socialise with chicks their species, such as our seven chicks with other blue-and-gold macaws."

"So what is your tribe like?" asked Saturn.

"Pretty much average but the macaws are friendly, peace-loving flock who are good friends with most of the other macaw clans and tribes living around them, especially the blue-throated macaw clan and the Bluewing hyacinth Clan," said Orquidea, "The blue-and-gold macaw tribe has a special dance called 'Blue and Gold Feathers in the Blue Sky and Golden Sun'…"

"Would the blue-throated macaw clan have a similar dance since the blue-throated macaws are also blue and yellow?" asked Saturn.

"No, their dance has a different name and they live with the Bluewing hyacinth macaw clan," said Orquidea, "Each bird tribe and clan in the Amazon has their own special dance. The Spix macaw tribe's dance is called, as I remember, 'Beautiful Creatures'…"

"Venus is going to be awed to see so many more birds of her species numbering in the hundreds when we get there," said Saturn, "And hopefully, we might find the Lear's macaws and glaucous macaws as well…"

Orquidea nodded in agreement. Then Enceladus came in and said, "Hey, Dad, did you know that harpy eagles are known for being scavengers besides hunters? Ganymede told me that last night."

"Oh, yeah, harpies feed on carrion as well as fresh meat, son," said Orquidea, "Most people think harpy eagles feed on fresh meat but they also scavenge. When I was a chick and we were taken on an outing in the blue-and-gold macaw tribe's territory, we saw one scavenge on a capybara carcass."

"You know the Amazon jungle will be totally new to me when we get there, my dear," said Saturn worriedly, "I'll have no experience of living in the truly wild environment and might struggle to thrive…"

"Don't worry, Saturn," said Orquidea, "I and some of my tribe members, perhaps even my leader, will teach you the basics of jungle survival."

She then fluttered over to check on the seven chicks as they got ready to meet the other macaws.

"But having said that," she said, "You already know how to forage in the forest and build a nest, which is a start, despite you being a pet for the first fifteen years of your life, which is impressive."

"I'm not sure how Blu is coping in the wild Amazon," said Saturn worried about Jewel's mate, "When I observed him for a few hours while we were visiting Blu and his family at Tulio and Linda's cottage for the day, Blu was frequently around human things like making pancakes for his chicks and watching the TV, and also eating artificially prepared food like cereal. He hadn't spent much time in the natural environment learning how to forage for food like naturally provided fruit and whatnot…"

"Well if Blu hadn't learnt those basic but important skills and ends up struggling in the Amazon," said Orquidea, "I wouldn't be surprised."

"And Jupiter did tell Blu to at least start learning to forage in the forest several times before New Year's Eve," said Saturn, "And I think Venus advised him as well but Blu didn't seem to have listened and continued living around human things."

"Mind you, having said that," continued Saturn as he went into the hollow to make sure that it was clean in case any bird might decide to live in it and perhaps raise a family, "When we moved into the forest, I struggled quite a bit trying to live in the natural environment but I eventually got used to it especially after you laid our large clutch of eggs."

"I had to teach you how to forage and that before we set to starting a family so you could get used to living in a natural environment rather than a human's place like you did for the first fifteen years of your life," said Orquidea. She then turned to Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus and said, "Alright, you seven, can you line up please?"

The seven siblings obeyed and lined themselves up on a straight stretch of branch. Orquidea then counted them and when she had counted seven chicks, she smiled.

"Good, all of you are here," she said. She then turned stern.

"Now, you lot, listen up, we have a very big flight ahead of us this morning into unknown territory," said Orquidea firmly. All seven pairs of eyes focussed on her as the chicks paid full attention.

"Now the first rule is," said Orquidea, a stern look on her face, "Do NOT wander off or lag behind, whatever you do, during the flight! The last thing we need is you getting lost on the way to the Amazon. You must stay by our sides and the sides of the other adult macaws all the way. You got that?"

The seven chicks nodded in unison.

"Good. Jupiter might remind us of that rule when he arrives," said Orquidea, "Now the next rule is…"

As she began to tell the seven chicks the rule about staying away from dogs and cats in any towns and cities the group might stop in for a rest and/or for the night, Saturn exited the hollow when he heard the sounds of flapping wings. At this, he looked up and saw three adult Spix macaws and six smaller macaws approach his tree.

"Hi, Zephyr," said Saturn, "You're on time."

Zephyr, Venus, Brisa, and Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil then perched on the branch right next to the hollow entrance. Zephyr saw Orquidea as she just finished speaking to the seven chicks. Orquidea's pink eyes then caught the Spix macaw family.

"Oh, hi, Zephyr," said Orquidea with a smile, "I didn't see you and your family turn up. I was just going over with our chicks about the importance of keeping up and not wandering off and that."

"Good," said Zephyr, "We've been over those rules with our chicks too."

"Dad," said Justin, "What is the Amazon like?"

"Well, you'll see when we get there, son," said Zephyr with a smile.

"The rainforest is being reduced by logging activity, isn't it?" squeaked Mimas.

"I'm afraid it is," said Brisa, "Zephyr's and my tribe have faced that quite a lot in our past. It's a constant threat to every animal living in that rainforest and because of logging, the Spix macaw tribe had frequently moved until they found a ravine. I just hope Linda and Tulio's setting up of our tribe's home would protect us from losing our homes to logging."

"We'll need to help find the Lear's and the glaucous macaws as well," said Saturn as he flew over to Orquidea, "They're in critical danger of destruction caused by logging as well if their habitat's not included in the sanctuary set up by Linda and Tulio."

Just then, a family of five red macaws with green parts on their wings turned up and perched near Venus, Zephyr, Brisa and the four Spix macaw chicks.

"Boy, I'm looking forward to seeing the diversity of God's creation in the Amazon," said Mars with a smile, "I often liken it to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia."

"Great Barrier Reef?" asked Chiquitita confused.

"It's a large water habitat in the Southern Hemisphere," said Venus, "Lots of fish and other aquatic animals of various colours live there."

"The only fish I'm familiar with are piranha and other fish that live in the Amazon River and streams," said Chiquitita.

"I ought to show you a book on Australia's aquatic habitats sometime," said Mars. Chiquitita smiled. Then Zephyr said, "Oh, here come Mercury, Pluto, Ceres, Jupiter and their families."

At this, Saturn and Orquidea saw four families of six scarlet macaws, five Lear's macaws, six glaucous macaws and five blue-throated macaws and moved their chicks aside to allow the lot to perch. As Jupiter touched down with Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto beside him onto the branch, he said, "Right, are we ready?"

"We are," said Saturn. He then saw the excited look on Mercury's face. However, there was a tint of nervousness in his eyes too.

"I can see you're looking forward to it, Mercury," Saturn said.

"I am," said Mercury, "But I am also very nervous. This journey is into the unknown but it's what my Mom and Dad wanted to do when I and my three siblings were old enough. They wanted to venture out into the rainforest to find other Lear's macaws."

"Well, that possibility seems viable," said Sapphire with a lean on Mercury's shoulder, "Especially after Lucy and Susan's team have discovered one of our feathers and after Lucy had taken a blurry picture of what appeared to be one yesterday."

"I still thought that blurry image looked more like a hyacinth macaw," said Mars.

"Well, it definitely seemed to be a Lear's macaw, especially after Lucy's team had found a feather like Mercury and Sapphire's," said Ruby. Then Ceres said, "If it were a hyacinth macaw's feather, Lucy would have known based on the length of the feather as hyacinths have longer wing feathers than Lear's. But since Susan and Lucy had known us including Mercury for more than fifteen years, Lucy could easily distinguish between Mercury's moulted feathers from Neptune's as Neptune's are always larger."

"We'll have to see when we get to the Amazon, I suppose," said Mercury.

"I wonder if this Jeremy guy and his team have found any glaucous macaw feathers in the area where that picture of the supposed glaucous macaw was taken yet," said Pluto, "It would back up the evidence of that picture."

"Well, we'll have to see," said Lapis Lazuli. Jupiter then turned to Cobalto and said, "Is everyone here, Cobalto?"

"Um, only Uranus, Neptune and their families are yet to turn up," said the male cobalt blue and orange-yellow blue-throated macaw, "I don't know where they are though."

While Cobalto kept an eye out for the great green macaws and hyacinth macaws, Ceres saw the nervous look on Pluto's face.

"You look full of trepidation," she said.

"Yes," said Pluto, "We're going out into new areas that we've never been to before, and it's quite nerve-wracking."

"That's normal if you've not been to a place before," said Lapis Lazuli. Jupiter then gave the glaucous macaw family a stern glare before raking this glare over Mercury and his family and then Cobalto, Ceres and their three sons.

"You will need to make sure that all your chicks stay by our sides as well," he said firmly, "Especially you, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. And also, keep well away from any domestic dogs and cats in any town or city we might stop in for a rest. After what Charon put himself into on New Year's Eve with those two Doberman Pinscher guard dogs, I've become very wary of them wandering off into danger, so you must keep your chicks together at all times."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli sighed and looked down at Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy. They did not want the incident of almost losing one of their chicks, either death at the clutches of a domestic animal such as cats and dogs or them wandering off, to happen again. Pluto made a nervous face as Veggie's words about the chicks putting themselves in the danger of getting eaten by domestic cats or killed by domestic dogs repeated in his mind. Veggie had been wise to advise him to go with the other macaws into the Amazon, where they will have other birds like them around. While Pluto thought about this, Jupiter ordered the groups into line. The other macaws obeyed and got in line.

"Good," said Jupiter as he hovered before them, "What I'm going to do is, I'm going to a headcount so that all are present wherever we go…"

As he said this, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon flew in. Their unexpected appearance slightly startled the other macaws.

"Oh, sorry, you lot," said Uranus apologetically as he led his mate and five chicks over Mars, Venus, and then Saturn, Ruby, Mercury, Ceres, Pluto and their families. He then perched beside the glaucous macaws.

"We forgot that we are leaving today," said Esmeralda.

"Where are Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo?" asked Jupiter.

"They're on their way," said Uranus, "They're saying goodbye to our neighbours first."

Jupiter sighed and began to carry out the headcount, starting from Mars and his family who were perched first in the line.

"Okay, five green-winged macaws, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre…" said the large male scarlet macaw.

"… Venus, Zephyr, Brisa, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil," said Jupiter. As he began to count Saturn's family, Charlotte looked excited.

"I can't wait to see Carla, Bia and Tiago again," she said, "If they've gone out into the Amazon before us."

"Neither can I," said Matilda. Phobos, at this, looked at the young blue pigtailed chick.

"Can't wait to see Carla, Bia and Tiago again, huh?" he muttered slightly sarcastically, "I suppose you can't wait to return to playing pranks on other birds with Tiago as well, are you?"

Matilda shot the small green-winged macaw chick a glare.

"Tiago plus you equals double trouble," said Deimos with a roll of his eyes, "I still remember you and your friend's prank involving that cup of iced water in the tree over Dad's head."

Matilda giggled as she remembered the day when she and Tiago had set up a cup filled with iced water (water with ice cubes in it) in the tree of Tulio and Linda's garden supported by a small stone and balanced carefully on a fork in a branch. The stone had been tied to a brightly coloured berry via a black string and because of the colour of the string in the shadow of the tree, the berry looked like it was floating and the cup of iced water was concealed by a cluster of leaves. When Mars saw the strange berry apparently floating in mid-air, he flew over to investigate why it was floating but had triggered the prank by pulling on the string when he tugged the berry towards him, dislodging the rock supporting the cup on the branch above and causing its freezing contents to pour all over the poor green-winged macaw, much to his shock. Mars then chased the prankster duo as they laughed and giggled at his reaction. Mars gave a sigh as he remembered that prank too. Alexandre then gave Matilda a slight annoyed look. He often found her pranks irritating but he also found Tiago's occasionally crude manners such as burping quite annoying as well. Jupiter then counted the other macaws until he finally reached Uranus and his family when he heard a voice.

"Hey, guys wait up," it shouted. At this, Jupiter, Uranus and the others looked up and saw a white cockatoo with a brilliant yellow crest and patches on his wings and tail undersides fly in. Behind him was a pink and white cockatoo with three chicks that had a mix of the two cockatoos' features.

"Travis, Sunset," said Jupiter in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"We want to come with you to the Amazon," said Sunset as she, Travis, Eustace, Rosa and Milo perched next to Uranus and his family.

"Yeah, we want to see those Spix macaws, especially Blu and his family," said Travis. Rosa, Eustace and Milo chirped in excitement. Then Miranda looked at the sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's cockatoo family.

"You guys are coming too?" she asked, "Cool, I mean yeah, I'm glad you're coming."

"We'd miss you if you stayed behind," said Ariel, Umbriel and Titania together. Esmeralda and Uranus, however, looked uncertain.

"You know it might be very dangerous out there," said Uranus concerned, "And since both your species are native to Australia and not Brazil, you might feel out of place…"

"Please," said Jupiter before Travis could protest, "If Travis and his family want to come, let them come."

Just then, four navy blue birds arrived and perched next to Mars and his family.

"You hyacinth macaws are late," said Jupiter with a disappointed frown.

"Sorry, but saying goodbye to our neighbours took longer than we thought," said Neptune.

"But I suppose we're still on time?" asked Ultramarine.

"You are, just," said Mars, "We are just about ready to leave and Jupiter is almost done with the headcount."

"Indeed we are ready to go," said Jupiter. Then after going through the headcount again to make sure that all the macaws were present, which will be a regular thing he will be doing during the journey, and satisfied that all were present, Jupiter then perched on the branch of a nearby tree directly in front of the group and said, "Right, as you all will know, staying together is very important on this long flight. I don't want any chicks getting lost along the way so you must keep them together, understood?"

The others nodded.

"So, how long is the flight going to take?" asked Mercury.

"About three days," said Jupiter, "What we're going to do is we're going to fly to Manaus where we'll catch a boat that will take us into the Amazon rainforest but on the way to Manaus, we might have stopovers for the night in certain places but as long as we stay out of the sight of any humans living in those places. We don't want to be spotted, especially Mercury, Venus, Pluto and their families due to them being rare species."

At this, Mercury, Venus and Pluto looked worried. Being such rare species of macaws, they might be an easy target for poachers to catch and take away, especially since it was extra-sanctuary territory out there until they get to the Amazon. Mercury and Venus shuddered at the thought of being caught and smuggled out of Brazil like last time when they were chicks, and almost again over two years ago. Pluto also shuddered at the thought of being smuggled out of Brazil. While having a look around Tujica forest with Lapis Lazuli before the two had Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, Pluto had been shocked that like Mercury and Venus, he had hatched in Brazil too, but in a different part of the forest. However, as a chick he had been captured and taken out of Brazil to London where he had been purchased for Blake, Drake and Jake alongside Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Ceres and Neptune. He had not learned to fly as a chick when he was smuggled but as he grew up with the other eight macaws in England, Pluto had been taught to fly by his owners and by Jupiter and the other macaws at some point. Then suddenly, Jupiter's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Right, are we ready," said the burly scarlet macaw.

"YES!" shouted the other macaws and Travis and Sunset while the kids cheered. Then Zephyr smiled and said, "Then let's get this show on the wing!"

"Yeah," shouted Ruby, Chiquitita and Brisa together.

"Let's go then," said Esmeralda. Then after another cheer, the entire flock took off into the air. Ruby left first with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, then Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, then Venus, Zephyr, Brisa with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, followed by Pluto, Mercury, Uranus, Ceres and their families, and then Neptune, Travis and Saturn and their families closely behind. Jupiter was the last to leave.

"Hey, guys wait for MEEEE!" he shouted as he hastily took off from his perch to catch up with the others. Soon, the group of more than three dozen macaws and five cockatoos were flying through the rainforest. As they passed over the avian community in the trees, some birds waved goodbye to them as they left. Then Jupiter and company flew over Rio. As they passed over one street, Veggie, Dash, Ginger, Catina and their puppies and kittens, who had gone out for a walk looked up and saw the small flock of birds.

"Good luck, Jupiter," shouted the cats and dogs together but the group was too high in the sky to be within earshot.

"I don't think they could hear us, guys," said Catina. Veggie smiled.

"I'm going to miss those birds," he said, "But it's for the good of their families, especially their chicks."

"I'm surprised Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo want to accompany the group," said Dash.

"Well, maybe they want to see the other Spix macaws?" asked Ginger, "And also help Mercury, Pluto, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and their chicks to find the Lear's and glaucous macaws?"

"Maybe," said Veggie. James and Avellana also gazed after Jupiter's group as they eventually shrank to nothing more than tiny dots until they eventually disappeared from view altogether.

"Dad," said James in a low voice, "Will we see them again?"

"I don't know, son," said Dash, "Probably not since they are going to move to the Amazon and settle in with those macaw flocks."

"I'm gonna miss them," murmured Avellana sadly, "Especially Mars and his family. Phobos and Deimos were such lovely chicks."

"Well, like I've said," said Veggie, "It's for the good of their families. But I suppose Travis and his family might return when they have had enough of the Amazon. Their birdhouse will still be nailed up on that tree in our garden."

Then Eduarda, Esperanza and Danny looked at Veggie as did Daisy, Collette, Thomas and Broccoli with sad looks on their faces. Then Catina smiled.

"Well, let's go home and get something to eat," she said, "I'm getting hungry."

"Yeah, so am I," said Ginger. And with that the cat and greyhound families left for Susan and Lucy's house. Daisy looked into the sky to look for Jupiter and his group once again but Veggie called her.

"Come on, Daisy," he said. Daisy obeyed and followed the others.

Soon, Jupiter and the others were soon out of Rio and were flying in the direction of Manaus, another city from where humans took boats into the Amazon rainforest. Unlike Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, together with Nico, Pedro and Rafael, in which Blu had taken a GPS device to help navigate the group to Manaus which got the group lost, much to Jewel's annoyance, Jupiter's group relied on instinct to find Manaus. Because Jupiter had not lived for very long as a wild bird and thus his navigational instinct was poorly developed, Zephyr and Ruby had taken the lead to help the group to find Manaus. Also, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, and Travis and Sunset did not take a bum bag (called a fanny pack in America), seeing that there was no need to bring a bag full of human supplies with them. However, when they find out that Blu had done just that, the group was bound to be shocked. As the large macaws flew over the vast expanses of Brazil, they saw a large variety of sights. The group flew over various towns and cities on their way to Manaus. Phobos and Deimos rode on Mars's back for most of the way due to them being very small so that they did not have to struggle to keep up with the others the entire way. As the group flew over one large city named Ribeirão Preto, some of them including Pluto smiled down on this totally unfamiliar city. Like in Rio, Ribeirão Preto was busy. People in the city were going about their daily business, driving their cars and other vehicles to and from various destinations. Children played and some pet owners also took their dogs for a walk. Saturn was reminded of when Lucy took him out for one of her walks with Dash back in London. Some tall buildings also dominated the cityscape of the enormous human's place, and the group also thought they saw some parks dotting the city as well. Pulling their eyes away from Ribeirão Preto, the group moved on. The group of macaws and cockatoos also saw more Brazilian cities and towns with people also up to their daily business. Then after flying for hours on the first day, the group stopped in a town to rest and eat. In that town, Jupiter had managed to snaffle some fresh fruit from some bags held by the stand's owners and hand them to the group who began eating. However, while the macaws and cockatoos ate and talked, some of the chicks, Triton, Indigo, Io and Europa began to look around the town when they saw a friendly looking Great Dane dog behind a gate look at them with apparently friendly looking eyes. Filled with curiosity, the two young hyacinth and two young scarlet macaws fluttered over to the Great Dane while eating some mango to say 'hello' to it. However, the moment the four got close to the gate, the Great Dane started barking and snarling, startling the four chicks into backing away. Neptune then looked up and when he saw Triton, Indigo, Io and Europa hover near the barking Great Dane, horror exploded within him.

"OI, GET BACK HERE, YOU FOUR!" he shouted. The chicks, hearing Neptune's voice, immediately obeyed and returned to the others. Neptune then angrily took the four aside and looked at them with a scolding glare.

"Don't you EVER go ANYWHERE near any dog again, you four," he shouted in rebuke.

"But Dad," said Triton, "That Great Dane looked friendly.

"Look, son, remember what we told you about the dangers of domestic dogs, especially guard dogs," retorted Neptune, "Honestly, you could have been KILLED. Remember what almost happened to Charon back in Rio when he put himself in danger of those two Doberman dogs!"

Triton, Indigo, Io and Europa flinched as Neptune shouted the last bit of the sentence. Neptune then sighed and said, "Just finish your mango and get prepared for the next leg of the journey but remember what I said."

The four obeyed and returned to eating. Then around an hour later, the group was back on its way to Manaus. However, a few more hours later, the sun was setting so Jupiter helped the group look for a safe place to spend the night. Then after a night in a safe place, the group continued their journey. During the second night, the group continued flying but not after resting well for a bit in another place first.

As the group flew over the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso at night, the chicks slept on the backs of their parents like how Carla, Bia and Tiago did on Blu and Jewel's backs. Jupiter and Ruby flew ahead. Jupiter had Ganymede and Callisto asleep on his back while Ruby carried Io and Europa. Near them, Mars carried Phobos and Deimos while Chiquitita carried Alexandre. Zephyr carried Justin and Charlotte; Venus carried Matilda while Brisa carried Virgil. Uranus, Esmeralda, Saturn, Orquidea and Neptune and Ultramarine also flew, with Uranus carrying Miranda and Ariel on his back, Esmeralda carrying Umbriel, Titania and Oberon on her back, Saturn carrying Mimas, Enceladus and Iapetus on his back, Orquidea carrying Titan on her back, Neptune carrying Triton, Tethys, Dione and Rhea on his back (because of his size, he was capable of carrying up to four chicks) and Ultramarine carrying Indigo, Eustace, Milo and Rosa on her back while Travis and Sunset flew alongside her. Mercury carried Phoebe and Jasmine while Sapphire carried Annette, Cobalto carried Wilbur and Aurelio while Ceres carried Azul and Pluto carried Blueberry and Charon while Lapis Lazuli carried Quincy and Flor. Morning then came and the macaws and cockatoos continued flying in the direction of Manaus. Then finally, after more hours of flying and spending of another night in another town, the flock finally made it to Manaus. Jupiter, Zephyr and Ruby smiled as they looked down on this city. Though they had taken a slightly different route to Blu's group, Jupiter's group had reached Manaus quicker and in the fraction of the time taken for Blu's group (due to Blu's reliance on a rather troublesome and unreliable GPS which took the group all over Brazil apart from to Manaus, including the city of Salvador until Jewel was forced to intervene and take over).

As the cityscape of Manaus crept under the group, Jupiter began to look around for the boat harbour where boats took tourists and other people into the Amazon rainforest. When he found it, he led the group in its direction. The group had unintentionally timed their arrival perfectly as a boat was about ready to leave for the Amazon. Furthermore, the sun was setting, marking the end of day three of Jupiter's group's travel. As the group of macaws and cockatoos approached the boat, they made sure that no human was looking into the sky before quickly flying onto its roof. As the group touched down, Jupiter began to do a headcount of all the members. As he did that, Uranus flopped down on his belly with his wings sprawled out to the sides.

"Boy, what a flight," he muttered tiredly, "This is the longest we have ever been on."

"Well, I did say that it was going to be a long journey," said Esmeralda as she lined up Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon for Jupiter's headcount. While she did that, Io gazed out into the sea of greenery, her yellow eyes glinting with awe at the expanse of trees.

"Whoa," she breathed, "I never knew the Amazon was so big."

"It's mostly trees as far as the eye can see, my daughter," said Ruby, "With the Amazon River and smaller rivers and lakes slicing and dotting the green sea."

She then ordered Io to return to the group. Io did so and stood by Europa. The group of macaws and cockatoos then lined up as Jupiter went through them to make sure all were present.

"Okay, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, good," said Jupiter as he walked past the Lear's macaw family.

"Venus, Brisa and Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil," said Jupiter as he walked past Venus and her family. Mars smiled at Venus and Mercury.

"I think your parents would have been very proud to hear that you have ventured into the Amazon, you two," he said. Chiquitita, her wings around Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you should be proud of yourselves," said Travis nearby, "Taking the flight path your parents would have made when you were chicks."

"Um, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago have already done that for my parents," said Venus, "But all we need to do now is look for proof of this flock of Lear's macaws."

Sapphire, at this, made a determined look on her face.

"I have a feeling that my tribe is alive," she said, "If Mercury's former owners' group have managed to find our species' feathers then there is a glimmer of hope that the Lear's macaw tribe, the tribe I was torn from in the Amazon due to the fire, is still alive, even if there are a few individuals."

"Yeah, I just hope the conflict between your tribe and Esmeralda's will have subsided," said Chiquitita with slight uncertainty, "Not to mention the conflict between my and Ruby's tribe and Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa's."

"So why were the Spix macaws and your tribe in so much conflict?" asked Venus.

"It's mainly over a large grove of Brazil nut trees which sits bang on the border dividing the red tribe's territory from the Spix's," said Chiquitita, "Due to two large macaw tribes relying on it for Brazil nuts, competition has risen between the two macaw tribes."

"Competition for food is the reason why my tribe and Esmeralda's also have a sour relationship," said Sapphire, "But it's not over a grove of Brazil nut trees, but a large grove of camu-camu fruit bushes. Like the Brazil nut grove, the camu-camu bush grove is bisected by a border dividing the green tribe's territory from the Lear's tribe's."

"Competition for Brazil nuts might be understandable," said Mars, "Since Brazil nut trees are quite uncommon in the Amazon but I don't see how a camu-camu fruit bush grove could cause competition and dispute…"

"The camu-camu fruit grove is a large grove and the only one for miles," said Sapphire, "And since it is an important fruit and a good source of vitamin C, and that we Lear's macaws have no camu-camu fruit bushes anywhere else in our territory other than at the Lear's/green border, we were forced to face competition with the green macaws for the grove and have come up with a truce that it be shared but still, we might be in conflict."

As she said this, she saw a frowning look on Jupiter's face.

"What is it, Jupiter?" she asked.

"We're one adult macaw short," Jupiter replied, "Where's Ceres?"

At this, Mercury, Venus and Mars's families looked at the blue-throated macaw family and saw that Ceres was missing. Only Cobalto, Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur were present.

"Well, I hope she turns up because this boats about to leave," said Zephyr with a frown.

"She could get left behind," said Brisa. Just then, a yellow and blue bird appeared from beneath the roof and perched near Cobalto.

"Sorry, you lot," Ceres said, "But I wanted to check on the humans on board this boat as some of them appeared to have spotted us land on here. Thankfully, none of them seem aware."

"Well that's good to hear but can you not disappear please," said Jupiter firmly, "We thought that you got lost at first."

"Yeah, when I saw you weren't by my side," said Cobalto, "I almost panicked."

Then suddenly, the horn of the boat went, making the whole group jump. Indigo screamed and dived behind Ultramarine.

"Oh, come on, Indigo," she said with a smile, "It's just the boat horn signalling the boat's about to set sail."

Indigo, trembling peered out from behind her mother as the group felt the boat leave the dock. Jupiter smiled as he glided his eyes over the group.

"But at least we're all here," he said, "That's the big important thing."

He then looked into the distance and saw the sun was setting.

"And it looks like this day is drawing to a close," said the male scarlet macaw, "It's time to get some sleep. Hopefully, we'll be in the right spot of the Amazon by the morning."

As Jupiter finished this sentence, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto each let loose a wide yawn. They were clearly tired from the long three-day flight.

"Alright, bed time, you four," said Ruby with a smile and with that, she began to look for a spot to tuck in her three daughters and son for the night. While she did that, Mercury and Sapphire tucked Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette in as they felt sleep creep over them and claim them while Venus and Zephyr settled down with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil with Brisa settling down next to them. Nearby, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre had already fallen asleep and Saturn and Orquidea had tucked in their seven chicks Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus in a life ring they had managed to find and take up onto the roof. Uranus, Esmeralda and Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon had chosen to sleep under a vent chute on the top of the boat. Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo also settled down with Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio by their side. Near them, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli tucked Charon, Blueberry Quincy and Flor in with Rosa, Eustace and Milo with Travis and Sunset helping. While the group tucked in their chicks, Pluto gazed out into the seemingly endless sea of green trees.

"I often find it hard to believe that the Amazon stretches for so many square miles," he said.

"Oh, yeah, it does," said Lapis Lazuli after she had kissed Blueberry on the head before walking over to join him, "It's a massive rainforest. However, its size has been reduced by logging."

The two glaucous macaws then gazed out into the sea of trees as the boat sailed down the Amazon River. A while later it was far away from the harbour of Manaus. Manaus itself was nothing more than a large smudge of brown, grey and other drab colours as it receded further into the distance. Jupiter sniffed the air and was amazed at how different it smelt.

"This is just like in the British countryside far away from any large cities," he said, "The air is ever so clear and not smoky unlike the air over a big city."

"It's because the air far away from big towns and cities is not polluted by human made gases, Jupiter," said Ruby, "This is the familiar sort of air we've been looking forward to."

"When we were taken to Rio before we met you guys," said Orquidea, "We were quite repulsed by the acrid smell of the air over the city. We're not used to city air like you former pets."

"Yeah, we prefer the fresher air," said Zephyr as he and Venus walked towards the edge of the boat roof to watch the sunset. Brisa had fallen asleep with the four Spix macaw chicks. She was too tired to join her brother and sister-in-law.

"Is the water also different?" asked Pluto.

"Water in our habitats is fresh and tastes sweet," said Zephyr, "It's not like the processed water you're also familiar with in human cities. We often find water processed by humans a bit bitter though it is enough to quench our thirst without causing us too much harm."

"Humans put cleaning agents like chloride into the water to kill any bacteria that might be harmful to them and then they further process the water to get rid of the chloride and also deal with other potentially toxic impurities before they send it to the drinking system," said Venus, "Ganymede explained that to me during the journey."

"Ganymede certainly is like Bia to a great extent," said Zephyr as he looked back at the now sleeping Ganymede and his sisters Europa, Io and Callisto, "He's a scarlet macaw version of Bia's dad Blu in the making."

"When Ganymede demonstrated that ability, Blu and Bia had been quite surprised," said Jupiter with a smile, "I didn't expect one of our chicks to be so much like Bia."

Venus then turned to Travis and Sunset to see if they would like to watch the sunset but the two cockatoos had already fallen asleep.

"Well, I don't think those two are up to watching the sunset," she said, "It's been a long flight and I daren't wake them, knowing what they, particularly Travis are like when disturbed from sleep: irritable and snappy."

"I don't think any of the others are up for watching the sunset either," said Zephyr, his green eyes passing over the now sleeping Mars and Chiquitita, Uranus and Esmeralda, Neptune and Ultramarine, Ceres and Cobalto and Brisa who was also asleep.

"I'm not surprised," said Mercury nearby, "The journey has taken a lot out of us. We shall sleep well tonight, that's for sure."

"Saturn's struggling to stay awake as well," said Sapphire as she watched the tired male blue-and-gold macaw trudge toward his seven chicks and then flump down by their makeshift life-ring nest.

"You're not going to watch the sunset, Saturn?" asked Orquidea. However, Saturn was too swamped with tiredness to answer and he just fell asleep after a wide yawn. Orquidea just shrugged but she understood why he couldn't answer. Then she, together with Mercury, Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr, Jupiter, Ruby, and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli began to gaze at the sunset. The sun was now almost completely below the horizon with only its light shining on some of the clouds nearest to it. Opposite the sunset darkness was chasing away the light, signalling the beginning of the night.

"Just wait until you see how the nights look out here," said Ruby, "The night sky is literally awash with thousands and thousands of stars."

"We've seen that sort of night sky before when we were owned by Susan and Lucy in London with Blake, Drake and Jake," said Mercury, "But it's only possible in countryside away from the light pollution that comes with living in such huge cities like London."

"In London we cannot see many stars at all," said Venus, "I often struggle to see even the recognisable constellations like Orion and Ursa Major due to so much light pollution."

"London must be an enormous city," said Zephyr.

"It is," said Venus, "It's probably larger than Rio and Manaus put together."

"Talk about a sea of light pollution then," said Ruby. Then the group began to continue watching the sunset. As the sun completely sank below the horizon, Venus turned her head to look at the sea of trees as Mercury let loose a wide yawn as he felt tiredness begin to cloak him.

"Mum, Dad, Izzy and Flo would love to have come here," Venus said, "As would Mercury's family. I've been told that none of the residents of Tujica Forest had ventured out here for fear that they might face various dangers like giant snakes and huge birds of prey."

"There are a lot of dangerous animals in the Amazon," said Zephyr, "Especially on the forest floor. Predators like jaguars and anacondas often lurk in the vegetation of the lowest level."

"That's why we macaws live in trees or in holes of a cliff face like most of my tribe does," said Sapphire, "Ground level is not the place for macaws like us."

"And then there are fish with razor sharp teeth capable of stripping an animal to the bone in minutes creeping around in the rivers," said Mercury. He shuddered at the sight of himself coming face to face with a piranha and had seen how fast a pack of them could devour an entire duck to nothing more than a skeleton once on the internet.

"Well if that is the case, then large rivers and lakes are a no-go for going for a drink in case those fish might jump out and bite a few feathers off me," said Pluto timidly. Lapis Lazuli put a calming wing on his shoulder.

"Piranha only inhabit deep waters," she said, "We macaws drink from water from the _edge_ of rivers and lakes, not over deep water."

Pluto sighed and calmed down. Then Jupiter said, "Oh, Pluto, and thanks for coming with us. It was appreciable, especially for your family."

"Veggie was right to say that we should go out into the Amazon anyway," said Pluto, "Especially for the sake of our chicks and that I am, after all, part of a species of macaw that's thought to be entirely extinct with only me, Lapis Lazuli and our four chicks being the last six glaucous macaws alive."

Lapis Lazuli smiled and leaned onto Pluto's shoulder lovingly. Pluto draped her with his wing and leaned onto her crown. It wasn't long before the group had to retreat with the other sleeping macaws and cockatoos to go to sleep themselves, and they did just that as the boat continued sailing further into the Amazon rainforest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- finding the Spix macaw tribe**

By next morning, just as the sun was coming up, Jupiter and his group, now awake and feeling refreshed from the sleep they had last night, continued their flight. They flew from the boat's roof and on into the vast expanses of the Amazon rainforest. A while later, the group of macaws and cockatoos found themselves in a massive maze of dense vegetation. They had completed the first stage of their quest in actually getting to the Amazon and now the next step was finding the Spix macaw tribe and the other macaw flocks including the Lear's macaw tribe and the glaucous macaws. As the flock trudged through the vegetative clutter, Jupiter looked nervously around, his brown eyes filled with awareness.

"Keep together, guys," he told the other macaws, "You could easily get lost in here. Also keep an eye on your chicks and make sure that they don't wander off."

Behind him, Ruby kept her wings firmly on Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as she followed her mate. Behind her, Mars and Chiquitita followed with Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. Deimos then saw a colourful flower. It was a massive orange-yellow flower with five board leaves fading to a blood red centre. Sticking out from the centre was a long thin filament, the part on which the flower's reproductive parts were placed. The stalk was deep red, like Deimos's feathers but the fluffy bits on the tip, the anthers, were yellow.

"Hey, Ganymede, what sort of flower is this?" Deimos asked. Ganymede looked at the flower.

"It's a hibiscus flower," said Ganymede, "The genus is very diverse with a wide range of colours."

Deimos continued gazing at the pretty flower until a blue wing hooked onto her small wing and pulled her away from it.

"Keep with the rest of us, Deimos," commanded Chiquitita as she dragged Deimos back to her and Mars's side, "We don't want to lose you."

Deimos obeyed and joined his brothers. Behind him, Venus looked around nervously as she walked alongside Zephyr, Brisa and her chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil.

"I think this is another reason why so many residents back at Rio's forest were too afraid to come here," she said, "This place is an endless maze, honestly."

"I can see why," said Mercury nearby as he walked alongside Sapphire and his daughters Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.

"Do you think we're in the right place?" asked Venus.

"I think we are," said Zephyr with a frown. Venus, however, was doubtful.

"Well, you should know the Amazon better than us," she said, "Since this is our first time here."

And with that she followed her mate, sister-in-law and chicks. Sapphire looked around.

"The Spix macaw tribe might just be around here somewhere," she said, "Or we perhaps could be in another macaw tribe or clan's territory. I hope it's not the green macaw tribe's since they might still be in conflict with us Lear's macaws."

"Or worse, we could be in the territory of the sworn enemies of all the birds of the Amazon, but I hope not," said Chiquitita darkly. Mars gave her a look.

"What do you mean by sworn enemies of the Amazon's birds?" he asked. Chiquitita gave him a dark look.

"The flying fox colony," she said in a low voice, "They're a large flock of massive bats around twice my size. They're fiercely defensive of their territory, those massive bats. Their colony's probably three times the size of Felipe's tribe."

"How are they the sworn enemies of the Amazon's birds?" asked Venus curiously. Zephyr turned to her and said, "Those bats have a notorious reputation of violently and brutally driving out bird tribes and clans to take over their land. Before I, Brisa and my mom Gael and dad Tornado were torn from the Spix macaw tribe by the fire alongside Jewel, the flying foxes had driven out a clan of toucans."

"They were also the ones that drove out my tribe when I was young," said Lapis Lazuli as she, Pluto, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy walked nearby, "They're extremely violent, those flying mammals."

"For some unknown reason, they hate birds of the Amazon and see them as vermin," said Brisa, "And any bird found on any part of their territory is often killed on the spot. Orquidea lost her mother to those bats when she accidentally strayed into part of their land while on an outing with some hyacinth macaws from the Bluewing Clan and some blue-throated macaws with which she was friends."

"Those bats sound terrifying," said Pluto. Lapis Lazuli, at this, shot him a glare, seeing this as a silly question.

"They are," said Brisa, "You don't want to meet them. They're nothing but vicious membrane-winged furballs who are as bad as those pesky loggers. They don't destroy a habitat like loggers do; they steal it and drive out its occupants."

"So hopefully, we're not on those bats' land," said Chiquitita, "Or we're surely dead as they would kill us on the spot."

Mercury, Mars, Pluto and Venus shuddered. Behind them, Orquidea, Saturn and their seven chicks looked around while Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine and their chicks walked alongside them. Their chicks kept close to their parents' sides.

"Does this seem familiar, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine?" asked Neptune with uncertainty.

"I don't know," said Esmeralda, "We haven't seen the Amazon for years, so I can't say."

"One thing for certain is there are definitely birdcalls so that's a relief," said Orquidea as she heard some birds chirp away in the trees above, "In the infamous flying foxes' land, birdcalls are non-existent as birds are always killed when they are found on the flying foxes' land, even small birds like honeycreepers."

"Why exactly do those bats despise birds?" asked Uranus.

"The reason is unknown," said Orquidea, "But all we know is that they are notorious in fighting against us birds."

"I wouldn't think that flying creatures with membranous wings would put themselves at risk of fighting a bird, much less drive out a bird tribe or clan," said Neptune, "Certainly not a hyacinth macaw for we are massive macaws with beaks strong enough to break a coconut's shell. And I certainly cannot imagine those bats driving out a whole _tribe_ of hyacinth macaws…"

"Hyacinth macaws do not form a large tribe," said Ultramarine, "We live in clans. Our species is too large to form a tribe unlike smaller macaw species like Spix macaws due to food requirements, though sometimes hyacinth macaw clans have a similar-sized clan of birds of another species living with them if their territory is large enough to support two clans."

"How many hyacinth macaw clans live near the Spix macaws?" asked Neptune.

"There are two," said Ultramarine, briefly glancing down at Triton and Indigo to make sure that they were present, "The Navyfeathers, my clan, and the Bluewings. The Navyfeathers live by themselves with no co-inhabitants while the Bluewings have a clan of blue-throated macaws, Cobalto's clan living with them. There used to be a third clan of hyacinth macaws called the Azul-Oscuro Clan who lived not far from the Bluewings and the blue-throated macaws but that clan had been decimated by loggers who destroyed their habitat, killing a lot of the clan macaws."

"The other macaw tribes and clans that live around the Spix macaws are the red tribe from which, Chiquitita and Ruby are from," said Esmeralda, "My tribe, the greens, the Lear's macaw tribe, which is Sapphire's and a blue-and-gold macaw tribe which is where Orquidea is from."

"Quite a neighbourhood the Spix macaws have," said Saturn.

"Yeah but not with the red macaws," said Orquidea, "I hope those two tribes will have made peace by now or Zephyr, Jupiter and their families are going to be struggling."

"Also another thing that we forgot to tell you," said Ultramarine to Neptune, Uranus and Saturn, "Our tribes are very anti-human and might not tolerate anything to do with humans due to bad experiences. Eduardo, the leader of the Spix macaw tribe is especially anti-human, which might pose a problem for Venus since she is a formerly domesticated macaw…"

At this, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn became worried. If Venus was found to have a domesticated history, she might be regarded as a freak by the wild Spix macaws. Then a thought entered Saturn's head about Blu. 'If that Spix macaw's still attached to his association with human things, he's seriously going to be like a fish out of water,' he thought. Behind Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo, Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul walked along with Travis, Sunset, Rosa, Eustace and Milo. Ceres appeared on edge and winced at the surroundings, fearing that a predator might jump out at them from behind any of the vegetation at any moment.

"You know something, humans don't have any naturally built-in equipment required for dispatching prey," she murmured, "But in the Amazon, I've read of predators that use fangs, talons, cruel beaks, venom or a combination of those to kill their prey. I just hope I don't…"

Suddenly, she saw a little spider pop down from above. Ceres yelped slightly and jumped onto Cobalto. At this, Cobalto shoved her off of him and said, "Oh, come on, Ceres, it's only a little spider. It's not going to hurt you."

Ceres then calmed down when she saw that the spider was only a small one.

"I thought it was a tarantula at first," she said timidly.

"Tarantulas don't often eat macaws," said Cobalto trying to reassure his mate, "And that spider wasn't a tarantula. It's just a small species whose diet consists of mainly insects that it catches in its web."

Ceres, at this, breathed a sigh of relief but she still remained alert. She wasn't keen on spiders but the creature that terrified her most were snakes. Ceres then began to scan the surroundings, her grey eyes inflated with fear.

"Spiders are bad enough as it is but snakes, especially anacondas are something else," Ceres murmured, "I hope there isn't one that's close by."

"I'm afraid that will have to be one thing you'll need to get used to, Ceres," said Cobalto sadly, "Part of the Amazon."

Ceres looked at her mate with timid eyes.

"I just hope we don't run into a venomous one or an anaconda," she murmured as she timidly looked around, "I hate anacondas. They're known for strangling you to death before eating you."

"There was one serpent that was most deadly," said Travis.

"And what's that?" asked Ceres.

"The serpent in the Garden of Eden that tempted Eve into eating of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil," said Travis. Ceres nodded as she knew that Bible story. She then continued to scan the surroundings and turn sharply as though she had a spring in her neck in the direction of even the slightest sound. Sunset also looked around, her brilliant red and yellow banded crest slightly raised.

"Speaking of snakes or hidden predators, Travis," she murmured with her wings around Eustace, Rosa and Milo, "I'm a bit nervous too."

"How do snakes eat their prey, Mommy?" asked Eustace. Sunset looked at him with a frown.

"Do you really want to know, son?" asked Sunset, "You'd get nightmares if I tell you."

"Snakes either poison their prey or swallow them whole," said Wilbur nearby.

"Wilbur," snapped Sunset angrily, making Wilbur flinch. At this, Ceres and Cobalto shot Sunset a glare.

"Sorry," said Sunset, "But I didn't want Eustace to hear about what snakes do to their prey."

"Well, it is a fact our chicks will have to learn if they are to thrive in the Amazon, Sunset," said Cobalto, "Terrifying I know but I think it's still important but please don't snap at our son like that for no reason."

Wilbur looked up to his father and then followed him, leaving Sunset to sigh. The group continued walking through the rainforest. Pluto was also nervous as he timidly scanned the surroundings. This timidity and awareness was also projected onto the former domestic macaws including Jupiter. Despite being a brave macaw, Jupiter was filled with trepidation due to this being new territory. However, he was glad that half of the adult macaws had lived most of their lives in the wild. Venus and Mercury were also trepid, but they were determined to fulfil their parents' dream of finding the Spix and Lear's macaws. As the group walked along the forest floor through the dense clutter of ferns, fungi and plants that grew on the forest floor, a metallic blue butterfly flitted by. As the aqua blue winged insect flew past Ceres and her family, its blue sheened wings entered Wilbur's field of view. At this, the young blue-throated macaw turned and when he saw the blue butterfly as it landed on a leaf, he smiled with intrigue. Wilbur loved brightly coloured things, especially butterflies and exotic birds. Then while Cobalto and Ceres were looking ahead while his brothers Azul and Aurelio talked with Sunset, Travis, Eustace, Rosa and Milo, Wilbur walked towards the butterfly. However, the butterfly flapped from the leaf and disappeared through some more plants, Wilbur, at this, followed it. As the group continued walking through the forest floor and the vegetative clutter, doubt began to bubble in some of the macaws.

"We're lost, aren't we?" muttered Mars.

"No, I know exactly where we are," snapped Zephyr but inside he had begun to doubt of the group's location as well.

"Surely, we're somewhere on the Spix macaws' territory," muttered Brisa as she looked around. Venus wrapped her wings around Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and also scanned the surroundings. The other macaws and the cockatoo family also joined them when suddenly, Cobalto's voice sounded.

"Wait, where's Wilbur?" he asked. This sent dread coursing through the other macaws and cockatoos like a shockwave. Ceres then looked at Azul and Aurelio and to her horror, Wilbur wasn't there.

"Where's your brother!?" she demanded. When Azul and Aurelio remained silent, Ceres began to panic. Then Jupiter came in.

"When did you have him last, Cobalto and Ceres?" he asked.

"He was with his brothers," snapped Ceres, "And now he's gone."

When Mars heard this, he rolled his eyes in sheer irritation while Jupiter put his wings on his hips and eyed the blue-throated macaw couple with an angry glare.

"Haven't you heard what I told you about your chicks?" he growled, "I said to keep them together, didn't I!"

"Absolutely," put in Saturn as Orquidea counted Mimas and her six siblings to make sure that all were present, "This is an infinite maze with so many nooks and crannies that the probability of any chick getting lost is incredibly high."

Jupiter then did a face-wing (equivalent to a human's facepalm) and said, "Oh, I don't believe this! We'd better search for him."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Zephyr in agreement, "This place is extremely dangerous especially to chicks new to this place."

"We'd better find Wilbur before a predator does," said Saturn and with that, the group began to search for Ceres and Cobalto's lost son. Ceres then began to have a meltdown.

"How could I have been so FOOLISH!?" she cried with a fling of her wings in the air and her eyes looking up, "I'm a lousy mother!"

"Hey, come on, Ceres, it's not all your fault," snapped Cobalto, "He's my son as well as yours you know."

Ceres sighed and fell to her front. Travis sighed and said, "Let's help find him."

Turning to Sunset, he said, "Keep an eye on our chicks, will you?"

Sunset nodded and kept a firm grip on Eustace, Rosa and Milo. Then the group began to search for Wilbur by calling his name and looking under every plant they could find.

"Do you think he could have got distracted by an insect or something?" asked Neptune.

"I don't know," replied Cobalto, "First he was there and now he's gone."

He then returned to calling Wilbur's name. Ceres, who had got up, kept a firm grip on her and Cobalto's other two sons, Aurelio and Azul. She timidly looked around at the surrounding vegetation clutter like before.

"Oh, I sure hope we find our s…" but before she could finish her eyes landed on a moving thin green vine-like thing creeping along a nearby tree trunk. At this, Ceres jumped as though she was standing on a very hot surface.

"Arrrgh, SNAKE!" she screeched and leapt onto Esmeralda much to her annoyance. Aurelio and Azul ran over to Esmeralda's side. The female great green macaw then forced Ceres off of her.

"Oh, grow up you big chick," she snapped, "It's only a green vine snake. Not gonna hurt you unless you provoke it."

Ceres shivered as she watched the green legless reptile then slither away on the floor.

"And besides," added Esmeralda, "That reptile only feeds on small animals like mice and small lizards. We're too big to be its prey but just don't provoke it as it is venomous."

"Oh, thanks for letting me know about that," replied Ceres sarcastically. Esmeralda sighed.

"Let's just find Wilbur," she said. Ceres nodded and followed Esmeralda with Azul and Aurelio by her side.

"Stay by my side, you two," commanded Ceres and her two remaining sons nodded. The group then continued searching for Wilbur but some of the others were also beginning to shoe frustration bubbling on the surface.

"This cannot be happening," shouted Mars as he vented his anger, "The naiveté of our chicks, honestly. It's a wonder Charon narrowly escaped being attacked by those two Doberman dogs back in Rio on New Year's Eve."

"This is just as bad as that incident, Mars," muttered Lapis Lazuli nearby. She then saw Blueberry wander away after a butterfly, this time one of those species with transparent wings.

"Hey, Mom look, this butterfly's wings are see-through," said Blueberry with fascination. Lapis Lazuli, at this, pulled her oldest daughter back to her side.

"Stay by my side or you'd get lost as well, young lady," commanded Lapis Lazuli. Blueberry nodded. Nearby, Pluto, Charon, Flor and Quincy returned after searching as patch near the group.

"We cannot find Wilbur anywhere," said the male glaucous macaw sadly. Nearby, Ceres let loose another huff of frustration.

"What are we gonna do!?" she sobbed for she had started to cry. Neptune put a comforting wing on her shoulder.

"Just don't try to get upset, Ceres," he said, "We'll find him."

"What, in this web of infinite hiding places?" snapped Ceres, "Fat chance."

Neptune sighed, seeing no other way to calm the panicked blue-throated mother down. Then Venus came by, her wings on her hips.

"Wilbur HAS to be around here somewhere," she muttered, "He can't have gone far, surely."

Then Zephyr came by followed by Brisa with the six Spix macaw chicks when suddenly, a rustling of some leaves was heard. This rustling made the group stop dead.

"Did you hear that, Jupiter?" asked Mars alerted.

"Yes I did, Mars," replied Jupiter in a low voice. Then Cobalto huffed.

"Don't tell me a predator's spotted us, has it?" he muttered.

"You've lived in the wild for most of your life, Cobalto," snapped Mars slightly, "You should know."

Cobalto remained silent. Nearby, Chiquitita had her wings protectively wrapped around Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. The three green-winged macaw chicks were frightened, their eyes wide with fear. Next to Chiquitita, Zephyr and Venus had their wings around a scared Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil while Brisa looked around, afraid. Mercury with Sapphire protectively shielding Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette then frowned.

"Oh, no, first one of Ceres and Cobalto's chicks gores missing," he muttered, "And now THIS!?"

Sapphire, with her woman's hair like feathers slightly raised whenever she was scared or angry, shot him an annoyed glare.

"Your complaining's not helping, Mercury," she growled slightly.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Pluto in agreement nearby, his wings wrapped around Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor with Lapis Lazuli standing nearby. Next to them, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were hidden by Ruby's wings, cowering with Jupiter standing by, a thunderous expression on his face which showed whenever his family and group was under threat.

"I-I-I don't like this, Mom," whimpered Io timidly, "What is it?"

"I don't know, dear," replied Ruby, "I'm just as scared as you are."

The four scarlet macaw chicks whimpered and cowered more in her wings. Nearby, Saturn and Orquidea had their wings protectively around their seven chicks. Mimas, Enceladus, Titan and Iapetus were cowering in Orquidea's wings and the triplets, Tethys, Dione and Rhea cowered in Saturn's wings. Uranus had his wings protectively around his five chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon while Esmeralda was poised to defend her family. Neptune also had his large wings around the terrified Triton and Indigo with Ultramarine nearby and Ceres had her wings around her two remaining sons Aurelio and Azul while Cobalto looked around. Next to them, the cockatoos all had their crest raised. Travis had his yellow crest showing while Sunset's brilliant red and yellow bands were on full display. She had her wings around Eustace, Milo and Rosa, who also had their crests raised. Then another rustling of leaves startled the group into turning into that direction but they found nothing there. The group of macaws and cockatoos then backed away until the group was within a small space. All the birds' feathers were on end and the mothers or fathers protected their frightened chicks while the others looked around, poised to defend their mates and chicks from any potential attackers.

"D-do you think those flying foxes might have found us?" Lapis Lazuli timidly asked as she shook. She had a serious phobia of those bats due to the trauma she suffered when she was young and when those savage bats chased her away from her tribe.

"Look, there are birdcalls around us," replied Orquidea annoyed, "So we're definitely not in those bats' territory."

Another rustling of leaves startled Orquidea into flinching at the end of this sentence and she held Tethys, Dione and Rhea closer to her.

"Oh, I don't like this, Jupiter," growled Mars angrily, "This is just like when Rafael's toucan kids set upon us several years ago."

"Look, there's no time to complain," muttered Jupiter. Pluto then began to quiver.

"J-J-Jupiter, I'm g-g-g-getting scared" he murmured.

"Look, Pluto, stop chickening out and get prepared to help us to defend our chicks," snapped Jupiter annoyed. Pluto did so and kept a firm grip on Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy, flinching harshly when another set of leaves rustled. He turned in the direction of the leaves but saw nothing. However, a brown blur shot past behind the group. Jupiter then began to boil with anger.

"Alright, you pests," he growled, "This has gone far enough. We've got over three dozen chicks with us and you're scaring them. Show yourself this MINUTE!"

No answer much to Jupiter's frustrated growl. The group continued looking around with eyes full of fear. But nothing could prepare the group for what happened next. As Pluto backed further away from the group, Flor and Quincy freaked out and left his wings.

"Wha- Flor, Quincy, don't you DARE go scurrying off into the vegetation," he growled but the two chicks ignored him and continued running away. Handing Charon and Blueberry to Lapis Lazuli, Pluto darted off after his younger two chicks. Sunset then saw Pluto chase after two of his chicks.

"I'll hover above the ground to help show him where we are," she said and with that, she had Travis hold Eustace, Rosa and Milo and fluttered upward. However, as she did that, she did not see a brown comet swoop down behind her from some trees above. Then before Jupiter could emit a warning, the brown comet flew at Sunset and grabbed her by the neck! The Major Mitchell's cockatoo then began screeching as she was carried away by the brown thing. The others turned in her direction.

"SUNSET!" screeched Travis.

"After that kidnapper before we lose them," shouted Jupiter

"I'll get Pluto, Flor and Quincy," cried Lapis Lazuli and with that, she grabbed Charon and Blueberry and rocketed off after her mate and dashed off after where Pluto had disappeared. However, moments before she left and before the group could fly off after Sunset and her captor, several more brown comets swooped down and grabbed more birds by the necks. One grabbed Saturn while another scooped up Mimas, Enceladus, Titan and Iapetus all at once, much to Orquidea's horrified shriek. Then Venus was grabbed by another bird, followed by Justin and Charlotte much to Zephyr, Brisa, Virgil and Matilda's chicks' horror. Then Mars felt a talon grab his neck and whisk him away as well.

"MARS!" cried Chiquitita as she saw her mate literally get carried away.

"AFTER THEM!" screeched Jupiter and with that, the rest of the flock lofted into flight. Meanwhile, Pluto continued frantically chasing Flor and Quincy as they continued running through the dense clutter of vegetation, Lapis Lazuli, Charon and Blueberry right behind him.

"I said, get back here this MINUTE!" shouted the male adult glaucous macaw angrily, "You know this area is dangerous and…"

But before he could finish, a brown comet swooped down and nabbed the two chicks clean off the ground. Pluto, at first was confused but when he saw a brown thing make off with the screaming Flor and Quincy in its clutches, he gasped in horror but then suddenly, another brown thing swooped in and grab bed Pluto by the neck. Lapis Lazuli arrived just in time to see Pluto get carried away.

"PLUTO!" she screeched but then a third and a fourth brown creature swooped down behind her. Then before Lapis Lazuli knew it, she was grabbed by the neck and scooped off the ground as well while the other creature picked up Charon and Blueberry much to their shock. Soon, the glaucous macaw family was carried through the forest and Jupiter and the remaining macaws and cockatoos were frantically chasing the brown things making off with their captured birds, Sunset, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Titan, Mimas, Enceladus and Iapetus, Justin and Charlotte. The remaining chicks that had not been captured were carried by their parents for they were too small to fly this fast. Mercury carried Phoebe and Jasmine in his talons while Sapphire carried Annette. In front of the brown group, Sunset was wildly writhing like a fish caught on a fishing line as her captor carried her through the trees by the neck.

"Will you LET ME GO, YOU CREEP!" she screeched, her red, yellow and pink-white crest fully raised and pink eyes ablaze with anger, "Or I'LL TEAR YA FEATHERS OUT!"

She tried to reach her talons up to claw her captor but could not reach. Her captor bore a strong resemblance to a macaw and was about the same size as Zephyr, Venus and Brisa. However, its plumage was brown but when Sunset looked at its tail feathers, she realised that the texture was not normal. However, she did not care about the real identity of this bird. All she cared about was freeing herself.

"For goodness' sake, LET ME LOOSE!" she shouted, "You PESKY eagle… falcon… um, whatever bird you are!"

Her captor, however, did not answer and continued carrying her through the dense forest of trees. Beside Sunset and her captor, Venus was writhing in her captor's talons nearby.

"You think this is some kind of JOKE, you PEST!?" screeched Venus at her captor, another brown macaw-like creature, "Drop us this MINUTE!"

Behind Venus and Sunset's captors, Mars and Saturn were writhing furiously in their captors' talons as well, shouting every kind of threat they could think of at their captors while Justin, Charlotte, Enceladus, Mimas, Titan and Iapetus screamed their heads off in their captors' talons. Then the group were joined by four more brown macaw-like kidnappers and they had Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy in their talons. Behind the group of brown macaw-like birds, Jupiter was beating his wings furiously in an attempt to catch up to the brown birds. He shouted and screeched at the group of brown macaw-like birds to release their captured victims or else. Behind him, Ruby frantically flapped her wings while carrying Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in her talons. Then Neptune flew past and began to gain on the brown macaw-like birds. Because he was massive with larger wings due to being a hyacinth macaw, he was able to fly faster and cover greater distance.

"Neptune, do you think you could gain on those pesky brown birds and make them release our captured members?" asked Jupiter. Neptune nodded and began to try and catch up to the brown macaw-like birds but it wasn't easy for the clutter of the trees was making his flight path very difficult and since he was not very used to flying through a cluttered environment despite the size advantage, Neptune began to struggle. He dodged a tree trunk to avoid crashing into it.

"We're losing them," cried Uranus from behind. Jupiter looked up and saw that the brown birds and their victims were widening the gap between themselves and his group. However, he did not give up and continued chasing the brown macaw-like birds. Behind Jupiter's group, Chiquitita who carried Phobos, Alexandre and Deimos was struggling to keep up with the others due to her size. She was puffing and panting wildly and her wing muscles were crying that she stop and rest but she refused. But despite her best efforts to catch up with the other macaws and Travis, the gap between them and her was widening. However, she need not worry about getting lost as right up in front; Sunset's brown captor had released the Major Mitchell's cockatoo. Sunset, unprepared for this, found herself plummeting through the forest air and then crash into a violent tumble on the ground. As she slowed to a stop, she quickly put her wings around her head for fear that her captor might attack her. Then Venus and Mars appeared. They tumbled violently along the floor as well as their captors had dropped them. Then came Saturn and Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, and then finally the chicks as they, a few at a time were sent crashing onto the forest floor as they were dropped as well. As soon as he rolled to a stop, Pluto, covered in bits of leafy debris and mud, quickly swept his wings around Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy while Lapis Lazuli hugged him. Venus, also covered in mud and leaf litter, did the same with Justin and Charlotte but as she did so, she saw a small blue and yellow bird quivering under a fern.

"Wilbur," she cried in relief as Saturn scooped up Mimas, Enceladus, Titan and Iapetus nearby. Wilbur was shivering and was refusing to come out from his hiding place. As Sunset, also covered in mud and leaves, stood up, shaking with shock from being carried away, a colourful flock of macaws appeared through the dense maze of trees. Travis, with Eustace, Milo and Rosa in his talons, made a beeline for Sunset and wrapped his wings around her the moment he landed. Orquidea with Tethys, Rhea and Dione also flew straight over to Saturn and hugged him and Zephyr and Brisa who carried Matilda and Virgil went straight for Venus, Justin and Charlotte and hugged them. Jupiter, Ruby and their four chicks Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also made a beeline for Mars and began to help him up and brush the forest dirt off his front. Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also appeared, followed by Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton, Uranus, Esmeralda and their chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon and then finally, Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio and Azul. When Ceres and her mate and two other sons saw Wilbur, they rocketed towards him without hesitation and scooped him up in a relieved hug.

"Oh, my dear son, I thought we lost you," cried Ceres in utter relief. Then there was a swoosh of air as Chiquitita, who was the last to appear with Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre in her talons, made a beeline for Mars and hugged him.

"Dad," said Wilbur to Cobalto, "Those brown macaws whisked me away."

Cobalto, however, responded with a scowl on his face, making Wilbur look down in shame.

"Sorry," murmured the young blue-throated macaw.

"What have we told you about wandering off in this dense environment, young man?" growled Cobalto. Wilbur said nothing.

"You had us in a serious panic," added Ceres, "I thought you'd have been caught by a predator!"

Wilbur sighed and continued looking down to the floor in shame. Then Cobalto sighed and brought him into a hug.

"Oh, don't ever do this to us again, Wilbur, I thought we lost you," said the relieved blue-throated father. Chiquitita, who was breathing heavily, then looked up at the brown macaw-like birds as they flew through the trees. There was a faint sound of a small waterfall nearby.

"What sort of… macaws are those… birds?" she asked in a hushed voice between gasps. Jupiter also saws the brown birds.

"I don't know but brown macaws aren't a species I've heard of," he said. Then Zephyr saw the brown birds fly towards a small spray of water.

"Guys, look," he said. At this, the macaws and cockatoos watched as the brown macaw-like birds flew through the spray of water in single file. Then, as if by magic, the birds transformed from brown to blue as they emerged from the other side of the small waterfall. After this, the birds, now blue, turned round and flew back towards Jupiter and his group. Then soon, Jupiter and his group found themselves surrounded by several dozen more blue birds. all of the birds were macaws like the group apart from Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa and their plumages were all a shade of blue. Some had dark blue feathers like Zephyr and Justin while some had light blue feathers like Brisa and Venus, Virgil, Charlotte and Matilda. Yet other birds had intermediate shades of blue to their feathers, such as azure. All the macaws also had a variety of facial markings ranging from white to blue-white and they all had dark grey to black beaks and feet, also like Zephyr, Brisa, Venus and the four Spix macaw chicks. Mars looked around in awe.

"Hey, Zephyr, Brisa, Venus," he said, "These birds look a lot like you."

"I know," said Zephyr as he looked around at the blue macaws, "This is the Spix macaw tribe. Looks like we finally found them."

"More like the other way round," said Sunset. Venus continued gazing at the blue macaws in awe. They were indeed Spix macaws, just like herself and she had never seen so many more of her species in her life.

"Mom, Dad, Flo and Izzy would have been amazed to see this," she breathed. Ruby then saw some Spix macaws talking warily. She and Chiquitita were wary of the blue macaws watching the group for fear that the Spix macaw tribe might still be in conflict with the red macaws.

"I hope those blue macaws don't attack me and Chiquitita," she murmured, "Knowing what they're like with us scarlet and green-winged macaws on their patch."

"Look, Ruby," said Chiquitita, "They don't look like they're about to attack us at all."

Ruby looked at the blue macaws in shock to see that Chiquitita was right. Rather than disgusted faces, she saw awed faces from the blue macaws as they looked at her.

"But this is impossible," she said in disbelief, "Those Spix macaws despise us reds."

"They also look shocked at Pluto and his family as well," said Uranus. Pluto, at this, looked at some Spix macaws on one large branch as they talked to each other with eyes wide with shock and pointing to him, Lapis Lazuli, Quincy, Charon, Flor and Blueberry. Blueberry looked up at the Spix macaws in awe.

"So, how many Spix macaws are there, Mr Zephyr?" she asked.

"Around two to three hundred or more," said Zephyr, "We're quite a big tribe."

"That's a whole flock of such rare birds," gasped Venus.

"The red macaw tribe is roughly the same size," said Chiquitita, "As are the Lear's macaws and the green macaws. The two hyacinth macaw clans and the blue-throated macaw clan, however, are smaller with around a hundred to a hundred and fifty individuals excluding chicks."

Mercury brimmed with excitement.

"We've got to find the Lear's macaw tribe," he said.

"In a while," said Sapphire, "Let's just spend time getting to know this flock of birds first."

Mercury smiled at her as Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette continued gazing at the flock of blue birds. Then Ceres began to walk backwards from Cobalto's side to get a better view of some of the Spix macaws when she bumped into one that had landed on the ground.

"Oh, sorry," she said to the Spix macaw, a light blue male, "I did not see you."

The Spix macaw, at this, took off and flew away. As he did so, he flew past a small group of macaws, among them a pair of macaws, a male and a female. They looked a bit suspicious. The male macaw had blue feathers on his body as well as an entirely blue-white head much like Zephyr and he also had a tuft of blue feathers above his beak. Also like Zephyr he had a stocky build and his eyes were a shade of teal. The female macaw was cerulean and also had a blue-white head. However, she did not have a cerulean crest unlike Brisa. Instead, she had a small flick of feathers sticking out of the back of her head and her eyes were leafy green like Zephyr's. Unlike most macaws whose crest feathers often matched their plumage colours, the female macaw's flick was blue-white like the rest of her head. The pair of macaws looked middle-aged but did not have bags under their eyes. As the pair of macaws approached Jupiter and their group and touched down, the male asked in a typical middle-aged voice, "What's going on here?"

Then a blue macaw, which Sunset recognised was her captor based on his shape, appeared before the couple and said, "We found those birds within metres of a jaguar's den, Tornado. We managed to save them before the jaguar could smell their presence."

At this, Sunset frowned.

"But that's still no reason to just whisk us away like that," she muttered, "You sent panic exploding through our families and friends."

"Yeah, I almost sprained a wing trying to catch up to the brown macaws making off with our friends," muttered Jupiter.

"Well, you shouldn't have been anywhere near that den, you lot," said the male macaw firmly, "Jaguars are dangerous predators and if that jaguar saw you, you'd have been killed."

"But we didn't see it," said Neptune. Then Zephyr and Brisa came forward to explain but when the male and female macaw saw them, the four stopped and stared at each other in utter disbelief. For a few minutes there was silence. Then the middle-aged male macaw broke it.

"Zephyr, Brisa?" he said in a low voice and a step towards the two siblings, "Is that you? Is it really you?"

Zephyr and Brisa, at this, said nothing.

"How can this be?" gasped the female middle-aged macaw, "I-I-I thought you both would have been… captured by those poachers…"

"I thought the same thing too," said Zephyr in a low voice, "There was a lot… of chaos… with birds flying like mad… to escape those smugglers' nets and… after the chaos had subsided, you were nowhere in sight at all."

"Same here," said the female macaw, "We searched and searched for you but we could not find you anywhere at all."

"How did you manage to escape those pesky humans?" asked the male macaw.

"I was going to ask the same thing," said Brisa.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," said Zephyr as he felt tears threatening to well in his eyes. Then without hesitation, Zephyr and Brisa jumped into the male and female macaws' wings and the four had a group hug.

"Mom, Dad," cried Zephyr in utter shock and a strangled voice. Brisa also wept.

"Our son and daughter have both returned safe and sound," said the male macaw in a low voice. The other macaws including Jupiter and his group looked on.

"Looks like Zephyr and Brisa are glad to see their parents in so many years," said Mars. Venus also looked on stunned.

"I-I-I thought Zephyr and Brisa's parents hadn't survived that incident involving the poachers," she said. Then as Zephyr and Brisa broke their hug with the male macaw, which turned out to be their father Tornado and the female macaw their mother, Tornado smiled at the two siblings.

"Welcome home, Zephyr and Brisa," he said in a tearful voice, "Gael and I are so glad that you both have returned safe and sound."

Then the female macaw named Gael sighed and bowed her head in shame.

"We're so sorry to have lost you both," she murmured, "To think of you two out there, struggling to live alone troubles us and makes us feel so guilty."

"We were forced to make our way back to the Spix macaw tribe despite the fact that we thought them to be dead after that fire," said Tornado, "But it seemed that they had survived."

He then turned to Zephyr and said, "So how did you and Brisa manage to survive out there, alone, away from other Spix macaws?"

"Oh, we weren't alone Dad," said Zephyr, "We met these guys, including this Spix macaw, Venus."

And with that, he gestured to his mate. Venus then walked towards Tornado and Gael. Tornado then walked over to Venus and held out a wing.

"I'd like to thank you for taking care of our son and daughter," he said. Venus, at first, hesitated but then she placed a wing into Tornado's. Tornado then shook it. Gael also came in and gave Venus a hug, much to her surprise.

"Thank you so much for looking after Zephyr and Brisa," said Gael as she broke the hug. Venus smiled shyly.

"So, I suppose... you are Zephyr and Brisa's parents, aren't you?" she asked.

"We are, yes," said Tornado, "I'm Tornado, Zephyr and Brisa's father and this is Gael, my mate and Zephyr and Brisa's mother."

"I actually thought you wouldn't have survived that chaos caused by the poachers when your son told me about it," said Venus. She then sighed and looked down.

"I sadly lost my parents and two sisters to smugglers as well when I was a chick," she said.

"I know, poaching is a terrible thing," said Tornado with a frown, "Often, poachers don't even care about the animals they are smuggling."

"Speaking of smuggling," said Neptune with Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo by his sides, "We were almost taken out of Rio by a group and Ultramarine and I were stuffed into tiny cages…"

As he spoke, Gael saw Ultramarine and then Ruby, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Sapphire, Esmeralda and Cobalto as they stood with their respective mates and chicks. At this, her jaw dropped open.

"Wait a minute," she said in shock, "Are you lot…"

Tornado looked at Ruby and Chiquitita.

"Ruby, Chiquitita!?" he gasped as he recognised them, "Orquidea, Ultramarine, Esmeralda, Sapphire and Cobalto!? How…?"

"Yes, we have survived the fire and we have accompanied Zephyr and Brisa to here," said Ruby. Tornado then smiled at Ruby and Chiquitita.

"Felipe and Pearl are going to be over the moon when they see you two," he said, "We heard that you both were lost to the fire as well."

"Oh, we were," said Chiquitita, "So were Orquidea and the others…"

Then a thought hit her.

"Oh, by the way, are the red macaws still in conflict with you Spix macaws?" she asked, "Ruby and I have been a bit concerned about it, as had Zephyr and Brisa."

Tornado and Gael, at this, shook their heads.

"Not anymore," said Tornado, "We've made peace now. Felipe's tribe had come to help us drive out the loggers and now we've become friends."

"Oh, that's good to know," said Jupiter in relief. Then Tornado eyed Esmeralda and Sapphire with a curious look on his face.

"Are you two friends?" he asked.

"We are, yes," said Esmeralda.

"Why do you ask?" asked Sapphire.

"The Lear's and green tribes, however, are still in conflict," Tornado said, "So it might be a bit awkward for you both…"

As he mentioned the Lear's macaw tribe, Mercury popped up excitedly.

"There's a flock of Lear's macaws?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes," said Tornado, "They're part of our neighbourhood."

Mercury then began to dance on the spot.

"Alright, looks like there is a flock of Lear's macaws after all," he said, "I'm glad I went on this journey. Mom, Dad and my three siblings would have been over the moon to hear that."

Tornado and Gael, at this, gave a quizzical look with their heads tipped to one side.

"What does he mean?" asked Tornado.

"When I was a chick," explained Venus, "As was Mercury here, our parents dreamed of venturing into the Amazon to find more Spix and Lear's macaws. However, that had been cut short when smugglers captured us and took us out of Brazil. We both lost our parents and siblings in the process."

Tornado, at this, looked at Mercury with sympathetic eyes.

"That's terrible news," he said, "I'm so sorry you lost your family."

"We were born near Rio," said Mercury, "But we were taken out of Brazil as chicks. I was smuggled out with Venus."

Tornado and Gael continued looking at the male Lear's macaw with sympathetic eyes until their eyes saw Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Neptune, Uranus, Ceres, Travis, Sunset and then finally, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli.

"And who are those lot?" asked Tornado. At this, Jupiter stepped forward and introduced himself.

"I'm Jupiter," he said, "And this is Saturn (he indicated with his wing to each one), and Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Mars and finally Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. They're glaucous macaws."

"Nice to meet you, Tornado," said Pluto. Then Jupiter introduced Travis and Sunset who simply waved. When Tornado looked at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, he was shocked.

"Glaucous macaws!?" he gasped, "B-but I thought they were extinct."

"Yeah," said Gael, "There used to be a tribe of glaucous macaws that lived near where the Azul-Oscuro hyacinth Clan used to live before loggers came and decimated the clan but now they're not there anymore. We believe either the flying foxes had driven them out or they were forced to move due to loggers."

Lapis Lazuli shuddered at the memories as Gael said this.

"We were attacked by those bats four years after the fire," she said, "I was torn from the tribe by those bats and forced to flee. It was terrifying, honestly."

"I bet it was," said Tornado sympathetically, "Those flying foxes are brutes, I can tell you. They hate us birds and see us as vermin. I still remember the news of the toco toucan clan before the fire tore through the jungle. They had been violently driven out by those bats, Violeta's parents told us. Anyway, moving on…"

As he said this, Justin walked up to Zephyr and said, "Are we going to see the Spix macaws' home, yet, Dad? I'm getting bored of standing here."

"Me, too, Dad," said Charlotte.

"Can we move on please, Dad?" asked Matilda, "I wanna see Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago again."

"Please, Dad?" asked Virgil. When Tornado heard the four chicks call Zephyr 'Dad', he widened his eyes.

"'Dad'?" he repeated. Gael also looked on in shock.

"Did those four chicks call you Dad, Zephyr?" she asked.

"Then does that mean I'm a grandpa?" asked Tornado excitedly. Zephyr then turned to Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and said, "Oh, sorry, Dad, Mom, these are my chicks."

When Tornado and Gael heard this, they were over the moon.

"Wowee, we're grandparents!" cried Tornado, "I'm a grandfather!"

"And I'm a grandmother!" cried Gael jubilantly. Then Zephyr introduced the chicks.

"Mom, Dad, this is Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil," he said, "And Venus is my mate and the mother of these four."

"It's nice to meet you, um…" began Justin. Tornado smiled at him.

"You shall call me 'Grandpa' or 'Grandfather', and you shall refer to Gael here as 'Grandma' or 'Grandmother'," he said.

"Grandpa and Grandma," said Charlotte, "They sound easy to pronounce."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Matilda and with that, she fluttered up to Tornado and began to play with him. Justin, Charlotte and Virgil also flew up to Tornado and Gael and the six began to play around joyfully. Venus looked on with an amused smile.

"And how shall I refer to you two?" she asked. Tornado, at this, stopped playing with the four chicks and looked at Venus.

"We're your in-laws," he said, "You can refer to us as simply Tornado and Gael if you like."

Then Ruby stepped forward and said, "Well, speaking of parenthood, we have become parents too."

"Have you?" said Tornado and then Ruby stepped aside to reveal Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Chiquitita also revealed Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre while Orquidea revealed Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, Esmeralda introduced Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Ultramarine introduced Triton and Indigo, Cobalto introduced Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul and Sapphire introduced Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli also introduced Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy.

"Wow, you lot certainly have been busy," said Gael. Then the group introduced the chicks' names and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also introduced themselves. When Tornado looked at Travis as he admired Ruby and Jupiter's chicks, he said, "Are you a sulfur-crested cockatoo?"

"I am, yes," replied Travis.

"We saw a bedraggled sulfur-crested cockatoo shortly after our fight against the loggers," said Gael, "Blu told me his name was Nigel."

"Nigel's followed Blu, Jewel and their three chicks into the Amazon!?" shouted Sunset in shock. Then a thought about Blu and his family hit her.

"Oh, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, are they here?" she asked.

"Yes they are," said Tornado, "They turned up a few days ago. Eduardo, our leader, was very jubilant to see his daughter alive and well after so many years since the fire."

"Oh, can you take us to them?" asked Zephyr, "Some of us are getting impatient and are itching to meet them again."

"Of course," said Gael. She then turned to one of the birds, a caramel eyed male and said, "Maximillian, can you come and fetch Eduardo please?"

"Yes, Gael," said Maximillian and with that, he flew away. Tornado turned back to the group and said, "Well, it sure is nice to meet you lot but coming back to that bedraggled cockatoo by the name of Nigel, he apparently followed Blu and Jewel into the Amazon. The reason, I can't say but…"

"Does that cockatoo ever learn?" muttered Chiquitita, "And secondly it seems quite dangerous to venture out into the Amazon when he cannot fly…"

"He didn't fly?" asked Gael.

"Blu did something to him that reduced his flight feathers to nothing more than tatters, he told me," said Jupiter. Then an idea entered his head.

"Wait a minute; I think Nigel could have followed Blu into the Amazon because he wanted to get back at him for grounding him?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Zephyr, "But let's not worry about that cockatoo now. He's not going to come after us or Blu and his family so…"

As he said this, Maximillian returned.

"Eduardo's coming, Gael and Tornado," he said. Then within seconds, a large male macaw flew through the trees. He had a stocky build and pale green eyes. A faint white face mask enclosed his eyes and beak and most of his front was blue-white. The rest of his body was cerulean and his crest was a series of feathers standing up straight. Grey bags hung under his eyes which signify his age and his beak and talons were a light grey. As he perched on a branch, Mars backed away behind Chiquitita, wary of the large Spix macaw's rather intimidating look. Gael and Tornado, however, smiled.

"Our son and daughter have returned, Eduardo," said Tornado, "And so have Ruby and Chiquitita and some of the others deemed missing after the fire."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," said the male macaw in a deep voice. His voice sounded tough, like one would expect from a tough macaw. "Felipe is going to be very happy to see Ruby and Chiquitita again. He told me that they had been reported missing alongside some other macaws including his brother Oscar after the fire despite us being enemies back then."

"Right, shall we fly to our tribe's home for now?" asked Tornado. The other cheered and with that, the group took off and followed Eduardo and the other macaws to the home of the Spix macaw tribe.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- celebrations!**

Eduardo flew at the front of the group as he led them through the home of the Spix macaw tribe. Tornado and Gael flew behind with Zephyr, Brisa and Venus flying alongside them with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flew behind the Spix macaws, Chiquitita, Mars, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre flew behind them and behind the green-winged macaws, flew Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo, Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon and last of all, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette and Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor, Quincy, and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo. The group gazed in awe at the dozens of Spix macaws dotting the trees. Some were eating fruit, some were chatting, some were teaching chicks and some were just admiring the sunny day. Ahead of the group, a large cliff emerged into view.

"This," said Eduardo "Is our home. It is a ravine."

And with that, he led the group through a hole which served as an entrance and exit to the home area of the Spix macaw tribe. As the scenery of the inside of the ravine opened, Jupiter's group took in breaths of amazement. The ravine was enormous. Around it were numerous trees which the Spix macaws called home. At the distal end of the ravine was an enormous waterfall and at the foot of the waterfall was a large pool called the ravine pool. Floating on the pool's surface were dozens of large flat pads Venus had read somewhere were called giant Amazon lilies. Around the edge of the ravine where the plants and trees grew, dozens and dozens and dozens of pretty flowers of all sorts of colours grew and there were a wide variety of fruit trees. Mars then turned and saw a few young Spix macaws throw themselves onto some of the giant Amazon lilies and surf on them, laughing with fun and enjoyment. He smiled in amusement. Close to the ravine pool were clay licks dotted with a few blue forms. Spix macaws were eating some of the clay to help neutralise the acidic contents the fruit they had eaten released during digestion. As the group followed Eduardo, Gael and Tornado over the ravine pool, Tornado and Gael began to cry out.

"Everybody, our son and daughter have returned," shouted Tornado.

"Zephyr and Brisa have come back!" shouted Gael. As the colourful group flew past some of the trees, macaws poked their heads out and were amazed to see such a colourful flock of birds fly past. In one part of the ravine, down by the clay licks, a certain male macaw was teaching a group of chicks about how to open Brazil nuts. He was around Tornado and Gael's age and like Tornado he had blue feathers. However, his head wasn't entirely blue-white. Instead, the middle of his blue-white face was divided by a stripe of blue between his eyes and his blue-white mark faded to blue down his neck. He had a sheet of feathers atop his crown and his eyes were a shade of blue. He had a slender build unlike Tornado and Gael. Next to him was a younger male around Zephyr and Brisa's age. He had a slender build like Brisa but his feathers were a shade of azure, sort of half way between blue and cerulean. His head was blue-white and he had a sheet of azure blue feathers on the back of his head. His eyes were dark blue, darker than the older male's. The two male macaws were teaching the chicks when suddenly, the older male heard Tornado shout, "Zephyr and Brisa have returned!"

At this, the male, who was midway into opening a Brazil nut as a demo to the chicks, popped his head up.

"Zephyr, Brisa?" he said. The younger male also stiffened. Nearby, a female macaw looked on curiously.

"What is it, Viento and Nuvem?" she asked, "You're half way through the lesson."

Then the older male, Viento, passed the Brazil nut to the female and said, "You take over the lesson, Dorothy. We're gonna see our nephew and niece. C'mon, son!"

The younger male named Nuvem nodded and with that, the two macaws took off and flew after Tornado and Gael as fast as they could. Viento was Tornado's younger brother and Nuvem was his son, thus the two were Zephyr and Brisa's uncle and cousin respectively. As Viento rocketed past the non-Spix macaw families with Nuvem close behind, he shouted, "Zephyr, Brisa, ZEPHYR!"

Zephyr and Brisa heard their uncle's voice.

"Uncle Viento?" said Zephyr. Then suddenly, a blue and blue-white blur appeared and crashed into him and Brisa, locking them in a hug, stopping the group. Jupiter, at this, led the others to a nearby ledge and they perched there to smile at the reunion. Then Nuvem appeared and joined the hug.

"My two jaguars have returned alive and well," shouted Viento happily and jubilantly, "When you both alongside Tornado and Gael were reported missing along with Jewel, I thought you had died in the fire, but then Tornado and Gael appeared a while after the fire but I saw that you weren't with them. Though I was happy that my younger brother and sister-in-law have returned, I was very upset to see that you two didn't, and Tornado told me that he and Gael lost you two to chaos whipped up by a smuggler intrusion and assumed you both were captured."

"It's good to be back, Uncle," said Zephyr and he hugged his uncle again. Brisa then hugged Nuvem.

"And it's nice to see you again, cousins. When Uncle Tornado told us how you vanished from his and Aunt Gael's side, I was devastated," said Nuvem and with that, he broke the hug with Brisa and went over to Zephyr, hugging him as well. Venus looked on with her six chicks surrounding her. Viento then turned and when his blue eyes landed on Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, he smiled in awe.

"Ah, who are these?" he asked and with that he went over to Venus.

"Oh, that's Venus, Uncle," said Zephyr, "She's my mate and those four are our chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil."

"Oh, you've started a family?" said Nuvem. He then darted over to the four chicks and picked them all up much to their shock.

"And these four look so much like you," he crooned as he gave them all a bone crushing hug, "Especially this one (looking at Justin)."

Justin, at this, struggled in Nuvem's grasp. Nearby, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon tittered in amusement. Viento then examined Venus.

"Venus, hmm?" he said, "That's the name of a planet in the solar system, am I right?"

"It is, yes," said Venus, "Eight of my friends are also named after planets."

And with that, she gestured to the non-Spix macaws who had perched in a row nearby with their mates and chicks. Viento then turned and when he saw Jupiter and the others, his eyes filled in awe.

"Ruby, Chiquitita," he said, "Orquidea, Esmeralda, Sapphire, Ultramarine and Cobalto. I'm surprised that you lot have returned safe and sound as well. We heard that you also went missing in the fire. Boy, your relatives are gonna be over the moon to see you, especially Felipe and Pearl, Ruby and Chiquitita."

"How are they?" asked Ruby.

"They're alright," said Nuvem as he put Zephyr and Venus's chicks down, "In fact, they've become mates. However, they haven't had any eggs yet."

"My sister's become Felipe's mate?" said Ruby with a delighted smile, "I'm glad to hear it. I have become mates with a male scarlet macaw as well. This is Jupiter."

"And this is Mars," said Chiquitita, "He's my mate."

Viento then eyed Jupiter, Mars and then Saturn, Uranus, Mercury, Neptune and Ceres as well as their chicks. Each of the macaws introduced themselves to him.

"It's nice to meet you, Viento," said Neptune with a wing outstretched. Viento shook it. Uranus also shook Viento's wing as did Mercury and Saturn. When Viento noticed Saturn and Orquidea's large brood of chicks, he was amazed.

"Wow, are these all your chicks?" he asked.

"They are," said Orquidea, "We've had a pretty big brood."

Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus all waved to Viento as he admired them.

"It's very rare for macaws to have six or seven chicks in a brood you know," said Viento, "The most common average is three or four."

"Saturn and Orquidea's clutch was laid over around three days," said Uranus as Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon stood by him.

"I can see," said Viento as he looked at Saturn and Orquidea's seven chicks. And then after introducing himself to Ceres, he came to Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor, Quincy and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"And who are these lot?" he asked as he examined Pluto and his family.

"Oh, that's Pluto and his mate Lapis Lazuli and their chicks, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, Uncle," said Zephyr, "They're glaucous macaws."

Eduardo, as he introduced himself to Jupiter turned and faced him with a surprised look in his eyes.

"Glaucous macaw!?" he repeated in shock.

"I thought that macaw species is extinct," said Nuvem, "Well, I guess not."

"We've come out here in the hopes of finding other macaws like ourselves," explained Pluto, "Since we six are the last known glaucous macaws alive to the humans, there has been an apparent sighting from a group of ornithologists, or humans who study birds, of a glaucous macaw somewhere in this rainforest. The guy leading the group had even taken a picture of it but unfortunately, it came out blurry."

"Humans?" repeated Tornado.

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered," said Gael, "Our habitat's now a sanctuary isn't it?"

"Has all the macaw tribes and clans' habitats been included in the nature reserve?" asked Jupiter.

"The lands of the tribes of Felipe and Pearl (the red macaws), Soleado and Zoie (the blue-and-gold macaws), our tribe and those of the two hyacinth macaw clans, the Navyfeathers led by Flavio as well as the Bluewing Clan led by Demetrio and Violeta and their co-inhabitants, the blue-throated macaw clan led by Reynaldo and Anita are included in the sanctuary," said Eduardo, "But the land of the green tribe led by Alonso and Verde and the Lear's tribe led by Valentino and Rosalind, however, are still open to logging activity and poaching intrusions. We may need to go over there and convince those two tribes that their land needs protection."

"We'll do that," said Mercury, "We'll alert the group of humans, if they are still in the Lear's macaws' habitat where they found one of their feathers..."

Then Tornado gave him a serious look.

"You and your great green macaw friends might have to prepare for some difficulties if you do," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Uranus. Gael looked at him.

"Valentino and Alonso's tribes still hate each other and are in conflict," she explained, "Demetrio and Violeta did go over to the two tribes' leaders to convince them to make peace like how we Spix macaws did with the red macaws but the leaders hadn't listened."

Esmeralda and Sapphire sighed when they heard this.

"If the Lear's macaws are to be included in the sanctuary," said Viento, "Then make sure that the greens' territory is included too."

Esmeralda was about to reply when suddenly, Jupiter and his group heard familiar voices.

"Jupiter, Saturn, Venus," shouted a male voice.

"The rest of you, including Travis and Sunset," shouted a female voice. At this, Jupiter and company turned and saw two familiar macaws approach them with their wings outstretched. Three familiar chicks flew out from behind the two familiar adult macaws and went straight for the group's chicks.

"Blu, Jewel," Jupiter shouted as he hugged them, "You're here too with Carla, Bia and Tiago!"

"You came all the way here to the Amazon," said Blu as he broke the hug with Jupiter.

"We saw you on TV," said Mars, "But also our human friends appeared to have found evidence of the Lear's macaw tribe's existence. Mercury and his family were considering flying over there to find them."

"Yeah, but they and the green macaws might still be…" began Jewel.

"We're aware of that, Jewel," said Esmeralda, "We'll deal with that when we get to the green macaws' land."

"We'll go with them," said Travis, "I would love to help prove that this flock of Lear's macaws exists."

"Hey, where are Nico, Pedro and Rafael?" asked Sunset when she saw that the hat wearing canary and his cardinal friend and the toco toucan weren't with Blu and Jewel.

"Oh, they've left to go back to Rio," said Blu, "After the Amazon Untamed dance, they've gone alongside Luiz, Eva and a few other participants from Rio."

"Amazon Untamed?" repeated Venus quizzically.

"It was supposed to have been a Carnival show hosted by Rafael, Nico and Pedro," explained Jewel, "Carla helped them organise it."

Sunset smiled as she eyed Carla as she played with Justin, Charlotte and some of the other chicks including Phobos and Deimos. Then she turned to Jewel and asked, "Oh, by the way, why did you and your family leave… without telling us?"

"We didn't want to bother you," said Jewel, "We were going to alert you of the news of Tulio and Linda's findings but we assumed that you would be too busy with your chicks. Besides that, I so wanted my family to fly out and find this tribe to get them out of the habit of living like humans and start making them live like wild birds."

Blu, at this, sighed as Mars asked, "And as Blu settled in alright?"

Jewel looked at Blu and said, "He's doing okay."

Then suddenly, a handsome voice sounded, making the group jump.

"Zephyr, Brisa!" shouted a male macaw. His head feathers resembled those of Sapphire but were far shorter and he had striking blue eyes. Zephyr and Brisa turned and when they saw the macaw, they ran over to him.

"Roberto," shouted Zephyr, "You're here too!"

Then the male macaw named Roberto hugged his two friends. Venus looked at the male macaw and was amazed by his handsome look.

"I heard your uncle's excited cries while I was tending to my tree, you two," said Roberto as he broke the hug with Zephyr and Brisa. The two siblings then brought Roberto back to the group where Roberto met Jupiter and his group.

"And I suppose those lot must be your new friends, am I right?" he asked.

"Yes, they are," said Zephyr and with that, he introduced each of the newcomers. Roberto was amazed.

"Wow, planet names," he said, "That's unusual."

"Our owners have named us that," said Jupiter. Then he realised what he had just said. However, no negative or shocked reaction came from the surrounding Spix macaws, not even Eduardo.

"I see, you are former pets as well?" asked Tornado. Jupiter nodded.

"We spent the first fifteen years of our lives in a human city called London," said Saturn, "It's in a country called the United Kingdom and it's across the Atlantic Ocean. Venus and Mercury, here, however, had already been named Venus and Mercury by their biological parents."

"You know something," said Gael, "Before our home was set up as a sanctuary, we had a bitter hatred of humans regardless of whether they were nice or not. The other bird tribes and clans also despised humans, especially Soleado's tribe, the blue-and-gold macaws."

"Oh, so what happened after Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago arrived here?" asked Uranus. As the male great green macaw asked this question, Blu made a face as if to say, 'Oh no, here we go.'

"Well, when we noticed that Blu had brought this brown thing around his waist," said Tornado, "What was it called? I can't remember…"

"Fanny pack," said Jewel

"That's it," said Tornado. At this, Travis made a surprised face and slightly raised his yellow crest but Pluto whispered in his ear, "American term for a bum bag."

Jupiter, at the same time, frowned slightly at Blu.

"You see, Blu had this fanny pack thing around his waist," said Tornado, "And it made us sense that something wasn't quite right about him and we suspected that he had a massive connection to humans… something especially Eduardo despised…"

"We thought of him as a freak and a misfit," said Nuvem, "I especially scorned Blu, and we did so even more after Blu confided to Eduardo that he was once owned by a human…"

Blu then became restless, uncomfortable with the conversation. Then Jupiter stepped forward.

"Let me get this straight," he said, "Blu took a bum bag or fanny pack as you call it to the jungle?"

"He tried finding the Amazon on a GPS," replied Jewel. At this, Mercury, Venus and Mars almost burst out laughing while the beaks of Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto dropped open in shock. The beaks of Travis, Sunset, Sapphire, Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr, Brisa, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli also dropped open and Jupiter looked absolutely incredulous.

"A GPS… to find this p-lace!?" retorted the muscular scarlet macaw in utter disbelief. He then shot Blu a flabbergasted glare. Blu, however, said nothing.

"B-b-but those things are for vehicles and for humans to navigate places on the ground," said Venus, "Not for birds to use while flying in the air."

"How could Blu use a human's navigational device to find the Amazon when we birds actually HAVE the inbuilt ability to navigate without the need of such a device?" asked Mercury.

"How did you guys get here?" asked Blu.

"We instinctively flew to here," said Jupiter, "Ruby and Zephyr took the lead as we, as former pets, are quite poorly developed in the skill of navigation by instinct."

"What, but I thought you would have needed a fanny pack or something to bring some supplies with you just like I did," replied Blu. This was met by the silent looks of Jupiter and his group including Travis and Sunset. Then Zephyr put his wings on his hips and made a slightly amused but irritated smile.

"You and your human things, honestly, Blu," he muttered. Blu just shrugged.

"Anyway, continuing," said Tornado as Viento stood by him, "Blu's ever present fanny pack was an annoyance to Eduardo in particular. Then things took a turn for the worse when Blu flew over into Felipe's side to get a Brazil nut, causing war between our tribe and the red macaws for the whole Brazil nut grove.

"A war?" asked Saturn.

"No, it's not the sort of war you're thinking of, buddy," said Roberto, "We competed against the red macaws in the Pit of Doom in a soccer match."

"Soccer?" asked Uranus.

"If you're thinking that the game of soccer between two tribes or clans is for fun, it's not that kind of soccer," said Tornado, "Our soccer games are extremely serious and we play soccer against another tribe we have entered into conflict with, such as the red macaws over the Brazil nut grove, to resolve disputes rather than fight over them as it would result in injury on both sides."

He then continued, "But during that game, Blu scored the final goal for the red macaws, costing our side of the Brazil nut grove which was the final straw. I wanted to throttle that nitwit but Eduardo would have done just that."

"But it wasn't until after our fight against the loggers that we finally accepted Blu into the tribe and we made peace with the red macaws, and that's our story pretty much," said Gael.

"Whoa, so Blu really did have a hard time trying to adapt to the wild," said Venus with a surprised look at Blu, who just shrugged, "But I'm still surprised that he's taken a bum bag full of unnecessary things all the way to here."

"Unnecessary things, Venus?" snapped Blu slightly irritated, "All I had were an all-in-one Adventurer's knife, bug spray, GPS…"

Jupiter, Venus, and the others including Travis and Sunset all shook their heads in disapproval.

"You're a macaw, Blu, you were built to live in the rainforest," said Saturn, "You weren't built to live like how humans do, much less take things humans would normally take into the Amazon rainforest such as a GPS."

Blu sighed and looked down to the ground. Nearby, Carla, Bia and Tiago were chasing Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil and some of the other chicks. Then Gael piped up.

"Well, I think that's enough talk," she said, "I think it's time for a celebration."

She then turned to her nephew Nuvem and said, "Nuvem, can you find Mimi so that we could prepare to dance to 'Beautiful Creatures', please?"

Nuvem nodded and left to find Eduardo's older sister.

"'Beautiful Creatures'?" repeated Mars.

"It's the Spix macaw tribe's theme dance," said Chiquitita, "Didn't we tell you that our tribes and clans each have a special dance?"

"I think you did," said Jupiter.

"Yes, each of the bird tribes and clans has a special dance," said Tornado, "Ours is called 'Beautiful Creatures' and it describes us and who we are. We dance to it every time we celebrate something, like the end of a drought or special occasions like Jewel's return. Now, we're going to celebrate Zephyr and Brisa's return. Oh, I'd better get ready, the music's about to start."

He then looked at Venus and said, "I would love it if you joined us, Vera…"

"Venus," corrected Venus.

"Sorry," said Tornado, "It's gonna take some time for me to get used to your name. And since you're a Spix macaw and my son's mate and thus my and Gael's daughter-in-law, you might as well."

He then turned to Viento and said, "Brother, can you lead Venus to a patch of yellow flowers please?"

"Yellow flowers?" asked Venus.

"During the 'Beautiful Creatures' dance," explained Viento, "We wear a special paint. Males wear red plant paint over parts of their faces while females wear yellow flower pollen over parts of their faces and their wing tips. Come on, I'll show you."

And with that, he took off and Venus followed. Roberto also opened his wings as the sounds of the song's introduction reached his ears.

"Oh, they're starting up," he said, "Come on, guys, let's go!"

And with that, he took off, followed by Zephyr, Brisa and Jewel. Blu reluctantly followed. Tornado and Gael also took off. Eduardo turned to the others.

"Well, I don't know if you lot would like to join or just watch…" he said.

"No, we'll watch," said Jupiter, "Thanks."

"It is your dance after all," said Saturn. Eduardo smiled and then flew away to find some red fruit paint. Nearby, Carla, Bia and Tiago heard the song start up.

"Oh, 'Beautiful Creatures' is starting," said Carla, "Come on, guys, let's find some flowers and fruit to paint our faces."

"'Beautiful Creatures'?" asked Justin, "What's that?"

"It's the name of the tribe's dance," said Bia, "Didn't Mom or Dad tell you that the Spix macaw tribe have a song?"

"We didn't hear," said Phobos. Then Tiago flew in, almost hitting Phobos with his flapping wings much to his annoyance, excitedly said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

And with that, the three chicks flew off. Justin smiled at Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre and the other non-Spix chicks.

"Sounds like fun, eh, Phobos?" he said and with that he followed Carla and her two siblings. Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil followed. Ganymede then flew in and looked at his three sisters Io, Europa and Callisto and the other chicks.

"Well, let's get prepared to watch and enjoy the show," he said with a smile and with that, the chicks left to find their parents. Meanwhile, Viento led Venus to a patch of yellow flowers and picked one.

"Here," he said, "Dab this on your face and wingtips. Be quick because the music is starting up."

And with that he quickly flew off to grab some red fruit to paint his face, leaving Venus to look at the flower in wonder. Then she smiled.

"Well, here we go," she said and with that she began to paint her face with the bright sulfur yellow pollen from the flower. While she did that, dozens and dozens of Spix macaws, their faces already decked out in makeup (red plant paint for males and yellow flower pollen for females) had begun to sing the first lines of the song. Some Spix macaws were flicking twigs in their beaks with their toes; producing twinging sounds while some stomped and slapped their wings on branches, rocks or some of the ravine pool's lilypads.

Spix macaws: Let's come together singing love and harmon-ii-a-a-a-a-a-a…

Some Spix macaws also flew in the air and performed amazing acrobatic patterns.

Spix macaws: we are so different, but the same inside our hea-ar-ar-ar-arts… Beautiful co-lours as far as the eye can see, a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah…

During this part of the song, more Spix macaws were painting their faces and in the females, wingtips while some slid down thin trees like a pole or flew around. Zephyr, Nuvem, Viento and Tornado painted parts of their faces with red paint juice while Gael and Brisa painted parts of their faces and wingtips with yellow flower pollen. Nearby, the chicks did the same. Carla, Bia, Charlotte and Matilda painted parts of their faces with yellow pollen in their preferred patterns. Charlotte painted the areas around her eyes and chin and Matilda simply put cloverleaf shaped splats on her cheeks and forehead. She sneezed as some of the pollen entered her nostrils. Near the female chicks, Tiago, Justin and Virgil were painting parts of their faces red with plant paint. Justin smeared his cheeks and Virgil painted v-shaped chevrons on his cheeks and forehead. Roberto also painted his face red but Blu did it rather reluctantly. He seemed reluctant to join this dance after what happened last time. Jewel also painted her face yellow with flower pollen.

Spix macaws: Open your wings; fly when you hear the ca-a-a-a-a-ll

Then next, the Spix macaw tribe erupted into song.

Spix macaws: Let's celebrate, calling all beautiful crea-tures… come spread your wings, dance and sing songs about free-dom, like la-la-la oh, oh, one for the jungle fam-il-i-a, like ba-ba-ba, boom-boom, calling all beautiful creatures, like ba-ba-ba, boom-boom, calling all beautiful creatu-u-u-u-u-ures…

During this part of the song, groups of Spix macaws formed rings and a Spix macaw dived through each one. Another three groups of Spix macaws, in a ring each, flew upward and diverged out, tossing Zephyr, Brisa and Jewel into the air who spun a bit in sync before flapping their wings to the beat. Roberto and Blu then flew around and took Brisa and Jewel respectively and spun around before dancing with them. Venus, her face and wing tips coloured yellow, then flew up and at first was confused by the cloud of dancing blue birds but then Viento and Nuvem appeared and guided her to Zephyr. The couple then linked wings and spun in an elegant twirl before flapping in sync with the music. However, because Venus had never danced to the song before, it was quite difficult. However, with Zephyr's help she began to clumsily master it.

"That's it, Venus," said Zephyr as Venus finally managed to master the moves, albeit clumsily. Despite the difficulties, Zephyr had taught Venus how to dance and had shown her some of the dance moves often performed by the macaws during 'Beautiful Creatures'. However, Venus soon improvised her own dance moves and began to perform them elegantly. Around her and Zephyr, a ring of Spix macaws also danced in elegant patterns. More Spix macaws also formed a ring around Roberto and Brisa, and Blu and Jewel.

Spix macaws: Come this way, celebra-a-a-a-ate… laugh and dance all the wa-a-a-a-ay, follow me sing alo-o-o-o-ong, la-la-la-la, ooh, o-o-o-o-o-o-oh…

During this part of the song, some Spix macaws descended towards the ravine pool, each twirling elegantly and skimmed the pool's surface with their tail feather tips before flying back into the air. Nuvem was among them. As the Spix macaws danced, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto hovered as some Spix macaws danced around them.

"This is kind of how the red macaws dance," said Ruby. Jupiter smiled in admiration.

"Hey, guys," said Chiquitita as she hovered with Mars, Phobos, Alexandre and Deimos, "Look at Venus."

Jupiter and Ruby looked up and smiled as they watched Venus perform amazing twirls and flapping beats as she danced with Zephyr, a wide smile on her face. Nearby, Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus hovered, watching the Spix macaws in utter amazement.

"This is absolutely mind bogging," said Saturn, "To even think of a species of macaw so close to the brink of extinction to have so many thriving out here in an area you wouldn't think no human would know ever existed."

"Well, it'll be the same for the glaucous macaw, Saturn," said Orquidea with a smile, "If we find them."

"Hey, Mom, Dad," said Titan with a smile on his beak, "Eustace, Rosa and Milo are trying to imitate the Spix macaws."

His six siblings were laughing. Then Saturn and Orquidea looked and saw Travis and Sunset's hybrid offspring attempt to dance with the Spix macaws, but kept flapping out of sync and all over the place. At this, they burst out laughing.

"What are those three doing?" asked Saturn, his voice split due to laughter.

"Their parents are gonna be in hysterics when they see that," giggled Orquidea. Her mate and seven chicks also tittered. Nearby, Travis and Sunset were hovering as they watched the Spix macaws continue to dance.

"They sure are amazing acrobats, I can tell you," said Sunset, "I wonder how Venus…"

Suddenly, Travis saw Saturn with a smile on his face, point a talon to something. At this, Travis and Sunset turned and when they saw their two sons and daughter attempt to dance with the Spix macaws, they laughed.

"What are you trying to do, Eustace, Rosa and Milo?" chortled Sunset as Milo was struck by a flapping blue wing.

"Honestly, you three look so silly," added Travis, barely able to restrain laughs from escaping his beak. It was true. Eustace, Rosa and Milo looked absolutely ridiculous among the crowd of dancing blue birds. Several times, each one was knocked about or backward by a flapping blue wing. Eustace then tried to mimic the rings of Spix macaws dancing around Zephyr and Venus only to lose the pace and get knocked by more flapping wings. Then he, Milo and Rosa found themselves caught between two crowds of Spix macaws, one all-male and the other all-female, fly towards each other from opposite directions, singing the Brazilian Portuguese part of the song until they met in the middle. Among them were Roberto, Brisa, Blu and Jewel with Roberto and Blu being in the male group and Brisa and Jewel in the female group. Next Eduardo performed his part of the song.

Eduardo: Pop-Pop, I am a Pop-Pop, I am a (scatting) I am your Pop-Pop, Yeah, I am the Pop-Pop-Pop (scatting) Pop-Pop-Pop, hey, I am the Pop-Pop, hey (scatting) Pop…

As he danced, Carla, Bia and Tiago fluttered around him. Nearby, Tornado performed his own verse as his six grandchildren Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil fluttered around him in a ring.

Tornado: Grandpa, I a grandpa, I am (spins rapidly with wings outstretched but chicks are enough distance from him to avoid being hit), I am your grandpa. I'm your grandpa-pa, (spins again) your grandpa-pa, yes, your grandpa…

Then suddenly, while the four chicks danced in a row behind him, Nuvem, Viento and Gael swooped in and scooped up the chicks in the air. Nuvem scooped up Justin and Charlotte, Viento scooped up Matilda and Gael scooped up Virgil. The group then laughed as Mimi swooped in and swept Carla, Bia and Tiago out of the air in her wings, laughing also. Unlike the other female dancers, Mimi did not have yellow pollen on her face or wingtips. Then the Spix macaws all formed a pyramid of concentric rings increasing in diameter towards the base of the cone. Carla, Bia and Tiago, together with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, appeared through the hole in the top, followed shortly by Zephyr, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Roberto, Brisa, Tornado, Gael, Viento, Nuvem, Eduardo and Mimi.

Spix macaws: Let's celebrate, calling all beautiful crea-tures… come spread your wings, dance and sing songs about free-dom, like la-la-la oh, oh, one for the jungle fam-il-i-a, like ba-ba-ba, boom-boom, calling all beautiful creatures, like ba-ba-ba, boom-boom, calling all beautiful creatu-u-u-u-u-ures…

During this final part, the Spix macaws performed elegant patterns with each other, like spreading their wing feathers to form flowers while in fours. Carla and Bia spun back to back while Justin did the same with Virgil and Charlotte with Matilda. Tiago tried to join his sisters but shot up between Virgil and Justin instead much to their slight shock. Blushing and smiling sheepishly, Tiago flew over to his sisters and spun with them. The seven chicks then danced together in a ring of their own as Zephyr, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Roberto, Brisa, Tornado, Gael, Viento, Nuvem, Eduardo and Mimi danced in a ring of their own below them. At the base of the cone, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, having given up trying to mimic the Spix macaws' movements, flew back to Travis and Sunset's side as they continued tittering at them. Mercury, Sapphire, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Ceres, Cobalto and all their chicks had simply watched from the trees, smiling and enjoying the glorious show. However, they had been tittering at Sunset and Travis's chicks for attempting to mimic the Spix macaws' moves. Then after the song ended, the entire Spix macaw flock cheered loudly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- Ruby and Chiquitita reunite with Felipe and Pearl, Venus's training**

After everything in the ravine had settled down, the Spix macaws returned to their usual activities after cleaning their faces and wingtips (females only) of the dance makeup. Zephyr, Brisa and Venus, together with their chicks and Travis, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Mercury and Mars and their respective mates and chicks, flew in the direction of Tornado and Gael's tree with Tornado and Gael. Nuvem and Viento had returned to the Brazil nut class to finish the lesson with the chicks. As the group landed outside Tornado and Gael's tree, Tornado smiled at Venus.

"You really did perform really well, Vera," said Tornado, getting Venus's name wrong again.

"Her name's Venus," said Mars, correcting him.

"Sorry, Venus," said Tornado, "Despite it being your first time in dancing to the song, you managed to move professionally."

"I actually taught her some of the moves we use during the dance while we lived in Rio, Dad," said Zephyr with a smile to his mate.

"It was quite difficult at first," said Venus.

"But still you did really well," said Gael.

"You know this is the first time I've got to see your tribe's dance," said Sapphire, "And I'm pretty sure my tribe would perform their special dance as well when we return to them."

"Oh, yeah, 'Elegant Birds in the Glorious Jungle'?" said Gael, "I still remember that song."

"Do the Lear's macaws dance to it similar to how the Spix macaws do to 'Beautiful Creatures'?" asked Mercury.

"Sort of but the moves are different," said Sapphire, "You'll see when we perform the dance at some point."

Travis and Sunset then came in with Eustace, Milo and Rosa, who were still blushing with their crests raised, by their sides. They were still embarrassed by their futile attempts to copy the Spix macaws during the dance. The other chicks including Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil were still smiling at them and tittering.

"I've seen those three chicks of yours attempt to mimic us," said Tornado with a smile, barely stifling a laugh, "Honestly it was so funny how they kept losing sync."

Travis and Sunset smiled and looked down at the three chicks.

"Oh, Mom, Dad," squeaked Eustace, his cheeks under his white face feathers burning a crimson.

"We are never gonna try that again," muttered Milo, shooting a glare at Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa as they smiled at him.

"That was so embarrassing," muttered Rosa, "Even Blu and Jewel were laughing at us."

The group then broke into a titter before Tornado turned to Zephyr, Venus and their chicks, and Brisa.

"Well, moving on," he said, "I think it is time we found you a hollow each now that you are back."

"We could do with a tree that is fairly big enough for a family of six," said Zephyr. He then looked at Venus and then at his four chicks, "Preferably with five bedrooms."

He then looked down at Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and said, "But if the tree is smaller, it might mean some of you sharing rooms you four. You might not all get a bedroom of your own."

"It's okay," said Brisa, "I can have some of your chicks stay in my new hollow."

"We'd prefer it if we had all our four chicks in the same hollow, Brisa," said Venus, "Thanks for the offer, though."

"We'll figure something out," said Zephyr. Tornado then turned to Travis and his mixed-species family and said, "Well, I don't know where your cockatoo friends will be staying but…"

"We'll get to that," said Travis, his wing slung around Sunset's back and his three chicks standing around him. Then Milo became excited.

"Hey, Dad, we wanna explore," he said, "Can we go, please? Can we go?"

"Yeah, Dad, Mom," said Eustace, all embarrassment from the scenario during the Spix tribe's 'Beautiful Creatures' dance gone, "We wanna see the creatures in the wild."

"Especially butterflies," said Rosa, "I love butterflies."

"Er… well, um," said Travis, "I'd love to take you three out sightseeing but… I'm a bit concerned of the potential dangers that lay outside the ravine."

"I agree," said Sunset, "We don't want to run into any dangerous creatures like harpy eagles or anything like that."

"You absolutely don't want to," said Gael seriously, "But if you cockatoos want to explore, we'll arrange you with an escort to take you out."

"No, we'll take them," said Sapphire, "Now that we have found this place with the possibility of the Lear's macaw tribe still being alive, we could do with some company along the way."

"Yeah, and besides," said Mercury, "You did offer to help us find the Lear's macaws, didn't you?"

Travis nodded.

"And we're going to fly over to Felipe's tribe," said Ruby, "But before you ask for any escorts, Tornado, we're fine thanks. I think I can remember where the red/Spix border is."

Jupiter, Chiquitita and Mars and their chicks, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre prepared themselves for flight. Then the others prepared to leave as well.

"And we're going to go and find my tribe," said Orquidea, "Soleado will be thrilled to see me alive and well again."

"I'm sure they will," said Gael with a smile. She then turned to Saturn and said, "Well it was nice to meet you and I hope you settle in well with the blue-and-gold macaw tribe."

"Same for you lot as well in the green, the Lear's and the red tribes and the blue-throated macaw clan and Navyfeather Clan," said Tornado to Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres.

"Thanks," said Mercury.

"I hope we do," said Mars.

"And I also hope we can do something to resolve the conflict still existing between our tribe and Sapphire's," said Esmeralda, "And Sapphire."

At this, Sapphire looked at her.

"We might want to keep our friendship a secret until we sort the problem out," said Esmeralda.

"Yes, absolutely," said Uranus, "You are not to mention to any of the Lear's macaws, if you meet them, of our friendship with you, understood?"

At this, Mercury gave a look.

"I'm sorry, but we don't want to take risks," said Sapphire to him, "If our friendship is found out, we could be evicted."

"Okay, I'll mot say anything," said Mercury. Sapphire smiled and then turned to the others.

"Well, I guess it is time to say our good byes to our Spix friends," she said.

"Definitely," said Ultramarine, "I'm itching to go back to the Navyfeather Clan to see my uncle Flavio and brother Marinho again."

Cobalto, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ruby and Chiquitita all nodded in agreement. Then the whole non-Spix macaw group apart from Pluto and his family turned to Venus. Jupiter went first and hugged her, being careful not to squeeze her too hard due to his strength.

"We'll see you again when we cross paths, Venus," said Jupiter, "I hope you adapt well into the Spix macaw tribe."

"Same for you as well in the red tribe, Jupiter," said Venus as she broke the hug with him. She then did a talon fist-bump with Mars, hugged Mercury, then Ceres, Neptune, Uranus and finally Saturn. Venus also patted the chicks on the head too and smiled.

"We'll miss you, Aunt Venus," said Phobos.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Deimos. Alexandre also nodded in agreement. Then the three left to Mars and Chiquitita's side and said goodbye to Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Then Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto said goodbye to Venus, followed by Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, then Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, followed by Triton and Indigo, and then Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette and Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Quincy, Flor, and Zephyr and Brisa also said goodbye to the macaws as they prepared to leave. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, however, only said goodbye to the other macaws apart from Mercury and his family as they were going to accompany them to the Lear's macaw tribe's territory. Then as soon as they were ready, the non-Spix macaws apart from Pluto and his family took off a few at a time. Moments after Mercury, Sapphire and their daughters left with Travis and his family close behind, a handsome blue macaw appeared and landed before those remaining.

"Hi, Roberto," said Tornado, "What brings you here?"

"I've just been sent by Eduardo to fetch um… what's her name again?" asked Roberto. Then Venus stepped forward.

"Are you asking for me?" she asked. Roberto turned to her.

"Yes," he said, shaking his head a bit to shift some of his mop-like head feathers out of his face.

"Eduardo wants to speak to you," he said.

"Does he?" asked Venus, "But we still need to find a tree to live in."

"It's okay, you can return to Zephyr, Brisa and your chicks as soon as Eduardo has finished talking to you," said Roberto. Tornado then smiled to Venus.

"You go ahead. We'll wait for you while we look for a couple of trees for you and your family and Brisa," he said. Venus, at first, hesitated but then she went ahead.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit," she said and with that, she hugged Zephyr and kissed him, hugged Brisa and then her four chicks.

"Be good, you four," she said, "Mummy's going to see the Spix tribe leader."

"See ya, Mom," said Justin, Charlotte, Virgil and Matilda together. Then after kissing each of the chicks on the forehead, Venus turned to Roberto and he took off. Venus left and followed him. Zephyr watched as the maya blue pigtailed Spix macaw faded from sight in the direction of Eduardo's tree.

"I assume Eduardo's going to train her in basic jungle survival," he said.

"He will do, son," said Gael, "Venus is new to our tribe just like Blu was when he arrived with Jewel and Carla, Bia and Tiago. Anyway, let's search you lot for a couple of trees."

And with that, Gael, Tornado, Zephyr, Brisa and the four chicks left Tornado and Gael's tree.

Meanwhile, Venus flew alongside Roberto.

"So, what does Eduardo want with me?" she asked.

"He's going to teach you how to live in the jungle, um…" said Roberto.

"Venus," said Venus.

"Yes," said Roberto, "He's going to train you in the basics of jungle survival like how he did Blu so that you can live like the other Spix macaws of the tribe."

"Oh, so I am actually going to join the tribe?" said Venus excitedly.

"Well, since you are Zephyr's mate, yes," said Roberto.

"Brilliant," said Venus. Then she continued following Roberto to Eduardo's tree. Meanwhile, Jupiter, Ruby, Chiquitita, Mars and their chicks Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre continued flying through the Spix macaws' territory en route to the red/Spix boundary, the border separating the Spix macaws' boundary from that of the red macaws. They had separated from the others for the different macaw tribes and clans' territories were in different directions. Around the group of red macaws, blue flashes indicated the presence of Spix macaws as they flew about and talked in the trees. Some even waved to the scarlet and green-winged group and they waved back as they flew past.

"Our tribe is a mixture of scarlet macaws and green-winged macaws," said Ruby, "And it is often referred to as the red macaw tribe. Some macaws call it the scarlet macaw tribe but I think that's an inaccurate name for some of the members are green-winged macaws."

"So the red tribe consists of two species instead of one?" asked Mars.

"Scarlet and green-winged macaws are similar," said Chiquitita, "Both are red with blue or teal flight feathers, tails and sometimes lower backs, and most macaws have white facial skin as well as black and white beaks. The only difference between the two similar species is the area of contours on the wings. In scarlets, it is yellow and in green-winged, it is green."

"Are there any other bird tribe here that consists of two similar species?" asked Jupiter.

"Yes, Alonso's tribe, the green macaws," said Ruby, "They are made up of great green macaws and military macaws. Military macaws are smaller than great green macaws but both species look identical other than the size."

"So where are we flying to," asked Mars, "In order to get to the red tribe's territory?"

"Through the Brazil nut grove," said Ruby, "But when we get there, you must fly higher. We don't want to fly under any Brazil nut clusters."

"Why so?" asked Jupiter.

"Brazil nuts could fall," explained Chiquitita, "And that can be dangerous. They can even kill a human if they hit them on the head. If a heavy Brazil nut could fatally injure a human, it could instantly kill a bird if one falls on him or her. When you are introduced to Brazil nuts, you'll be reminded of that hazard."

"I'm probably not bothered about Brazil nuts because I'm not keen on them," said Jupiter.

"Yeah but you might want to learn how to open one if you want to teach our chicks Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto," said Ruby. Jupiter just sighed slightly. Then the group continued flying on to the red tribe's territory. As soon as the first trees holding Brazil nuts appeared in view, Ruby took the group higher so that the group flew over the trees.

"These are Brazil nut trees," said Ruby. Jupiter and Mars began to look at the massive trees. Their trunks were board and their leaves appeared to be spiky. Then Mars thought he saw a cluster of brown balls hanging from one of the branches.

" _Bertholletia excels,"_ said Ganymede, "That's the binomial name for these trees."

"Is it?" asked Io.

"You've been spending too much time with your beak in those nature books before we set off, haven't you?" laughed Mars. Ganymede just smiled and blushed slightly.

"Here we are," said Ruby. At this, Mars and Jupiter looked up and saw a few red macaws in some trees ahead. The group then made a beeline for the group of red macaws. They crossed where Jupiter and Mars assumed the red/Spix border was and entered into red tribe territory. As Ruby's group approached the group of red macaws, the latter were talking and eating Brazil nuts. Among them was a green-eyed scarlet macaw with a small ruffle of feathers behind his head. Standing beside him was a female scarlet macaw. She looked a lot like Ruby and had azure blue wing and tail flight feathers like her. She also had a slender build but her crest was a flick of feathers atop her head and she had light blue eyes similar to Europa. It appeared to be a regular chat with some macaws.

"Haven't you heard what had just happened to the red-fronted macaw clan the other night, Felipe," said one of the red macaws other than the green eyed and blue eyed macaw, a green-winged male, "That clan of macaws that lived quite some distance from where Reynaldo's blue-throated macaw clan and Demetrio and Violeta's clan, the Bluewings live?"

"No, what has happened, Tito?" asked the green-eyed scarlet macaw.

"Those flying furballs have brutally driven them out and taken over their land," said the green-winged macaw, "Some of Reynaldo's patrollers have just told us."

"Those bats are a serious problem to the bird tribes and clans of the Amazon, I can tell you," said the female blue-eyed scarlet macaw, "Thankfully we've managed to reach a truce with those flying foxes on the condition that we don't fly into their territory and they don't fly into our territories but who knows how long that will last."

"We don't trust those bats at all," said the male scarlet macaw with the green eyes. It was then that he turned his eyes in the direction of Ruby's group. At this, he became filled with curiosity at the newcomers. The female blue-eyed scarlet macaw followed his gaze.

"What is it, Felipe?" she asked. When she saw what the male scarlet saw, she gasped when she saw a group of green-winged and scarlet macaws standing before them. Their companions also came in.

"Are those macaws lost or something?" asked one of the female green-winged macaws, another companion. Then the male green-eyed scarlet macaw, Felipe saw something familiar about two of the large macaws in the group perched in front of them. At this, his eyes widened and he rushed off towards them. The female blue-eyed scarlet macaw also rushed off. The companion birds also looked at each other and flew off after the two scarlet macaws. When Ruby and Chiquitita saw the two scarlet macaws rush towards them, they opened their wings and were about to fly off to meet them when the female scarlet macaw with the blue eyes stopped into a hover.

"Ruby, Chiquitita," she cried jubilantly, "Is it really you?"

"Pearl, Felipe," shouted Ruby and with that, she lofted herself into flight. Chiquitita followed, leaving Jupiter, Mars and the seven chicks Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto to look on. Then the four macaws collided and locked themselves in an embrace.

"Oh, I can't believe you two are still alive," cried the female scarlet macaw named Pearl, tears streaming down her face, "I thought you both perished in the fire."

"Well, here we are," said Ruby, also crying with a stream of tears running down her face, "At least we're back here safe and sound."

The four continued their embrace with Jupiter, Mars and the seven chicks looking on. Pearl and Felipe's companions also looked on a bit confused. Then one of them, another scarlet macaw male named Tito spoke.

"Ruby and Chiquitita have returned!?" he shouted incredulously.

"I-I-I thought they had died in the fire like Felipe's family did," said a green-winged macaw, a male.

"Well it seems that those two are alive after all," said another green-winged macaw, a female, "But after all these years, it's incredible."

Then Ruby, Chiquitita, Felipe and Pearl broke their group embrace.

"Welcome home, sister and Chiquitita," said Pearl with tears still in her eyes. Ruby and Chiquitita smiled.

"Well, you took us by surprise, I thought there was something wrong with my eyes," said Felipe. He sometimes spoke in rhymes.

"You and your rhyming talk," laughed Chiquitita. Then Felipe saw Jupiter, Mars and the seven chicks as they approached them.

"And who are those lot?" he asked, "I hardly recognise them."

Ruby looked up and saw the nine birds.

"Oh, Felipe, Pearl, this is Jupiter, my mate, and Mars, Chiquitita's mate," she said.

"We're strangers," said Jupiter.

"From the outside," said Mars. Felipe then walked over to Jupiter and Mars and shook their wings.

"I'm Jupiter, and this is Mars," said Jupiter as he broke the shake with Felipe.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, you two," Felipe said. Then Pearl saw Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, she became curious.

"Who are those?" she asked. Ruby then introduced the seven chicks. Nearby, Felipe and Pearl's companions hugged Chiquitita and welcomed her home.

"Pearl, Felipe, these four are my chicks," said Ruby and began to point to each one, "This is Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. And these three green-winged macaw chicks are Chiquitita and Mars's offspring, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre."

"Wow, you both are mothers?" asked Felipe.

"We certainly are" said Chiquitita. Then Pearl danced on the spot excitedly.

"Wow, I'm an aunt," she cried.

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am," said Io with a smile.

"Ma'am!?" said Pearl with a laugh, "No way, 'Ma'am' doesn't apply here when you're referring to me. You shall call me, 'Auntie Pearl' or 'Aunt Pearl'."

"'Auntie Pearl'?" repeated Europa, "That sounds nice."

"I like 'Auntie Pearl' too," said Ganymede.

"So do I," said Callisto. Then the four scarlet macaws fluttered over to Pearl and began to play with her. Jupiter looked on with an amused smile as did Ruby, Chiquitita, Felipe and Mars and Pearl and Felipe's companions.

"Looks like I'm their uncle," said Felipe to Jupiter, "Mind you Pearl and I planned on having chicks too but Pearl decided to leave it for a while until she's ready."

"I remember Ruby asking me if I had ever thought about starting a family with her before we had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto," said Jupiter, "This was in Rio. While I did desire having chicks, it had come as a real surprise when Ruby told me that she had laid a clutch of four eggs and that I was going to become a father. However, I eventually adapted to the responsibility of fatherhood and I'm glad that we did start a family. But the important thing is, don't rush into big decisions until you are surer you are truly ready."

"That's right," said Felipe, "That's why Pearl and I had postponed starting a family until she is ready."

Then after a while of playing with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, Pearl put them down and looked at Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre with a smile.

"The bird studiers back in Rio doubted that I could ever conceive because of my unusually small size," Chiquitita said, "But look what we have. By the way, those are Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre."

Mars smiled and put a wing around his small mate.

"It's nice to meet you Miss Pearl," said Phobos.

"Um, you shall refer to me as 'Mrs Pearl', you three," said Pearl, "I have a mate, Felipe."

"Sorry," said Phobos.

"Can we refer to you as Auntie Pearl as well?" asked Deimos. Pearl, at this, thought.

"I think it would be a great idea," said Chiquitita, "Since you were one of my closest friends."

"Okay then," said Pearl, "You three shall refer to me as 'Auntie Pearl' instead."

At this, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre cheered.

"I like Auntie Pearl'," said Alexandre excitedly. Then Jupiter looked at Felipe and said, "Oh, haven't you heard that Jewel, Eduardo's daughter has returned?"

"Yes, we have," said Felipe, "It was great news, though we still hated the Spix macaws back then, and even further back many years when that fire tore through the jungle, but despite our hatred of those blue macaws, we were shocked to hear what had happened to Eddie's daughter and some of the others including Zephyr and Brisa."

"Eddie?" repeated Mars confused.

"My name for Eduardo," said Felipe. Pearl then sighed guilty.

"You know, when our tribe used to hate the Spix macaws," she said, "I especially hated Zephyr, Brisa, Jewel and Roberto and some of their friends, especially after what they did to me in front of our red friends with the fruit when we were chicks."

"Oh, speaking of Zephyr and Brisa," said Ruby, "Those two have just returned to the Spix macaw tribe with us. Also, Orquidea, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Esmeralda and Sapphire had returned."

"Zephyr and Brisa are back!?" asked Pearl in shock, "Oh, I'd love to meet them and make up with them and Jewel after the bitter rivalry we had as chicks. I'll have to bear that in mind when I bump into them or something."

She then looked in the direction of the red macaw tribe's home and said, "But for now, let's go home and celebrate. This calls for a dance to 'The Red Macaws with the Blue, Yellow and Green Wings'."

And with that, the group lofted into flight. As the group flew along deeper into the red macaws' territory Mars smiled.

"So we're going to dance to your theme song?" he asked.

"Yes we are," said Pearl.

"How did you know the name of our special dance despite you being an outsider?" asked Tito.

"Oh, we told Jupiter and Mars about the dance," said Ruby.

"I see," said Pearl.

"We'll have to show you two what we wear and how we dance and sing," said Felipe, "And also how we paint the sky with our colourful wings."

Jupiter and Mars smiled in amusement. Then Felipe turned serious.

"Anyway, coming back to that clan of red-fronted macaws," he said, "I hope those that had survived the flying fox invasion of their territory are alright. They're currently being treated by Reynaldo and Demetrio's clan nurses."

"Flying fox invasion?" repeated Mars. Pearl gave him a dark look.

"There is a colony of flying foxes that live a few kilometres away from our territories," she said, "They're enormous bats, those winged furballs are."

"Absolutely," said Felipe. He looked at Jupiter and said, "About as big as you, Jupiter and around twice Chiquitita's size."

"The average wingspan of those adult flying foxes is around a metre and a half long," said Tito, one of the companions.

"I know, Ruby and Chiquitita told us about them," said Mars.

"Why do you call them flying or winged furballs?" asked Jupiter. Ruby looked at him.

"The flying fox colony is the sworn enemies of every bird tribe and clan and non-tribe and clan bird in the Amazon," she said seriously, "Those bats sees us birds as vermin and they brutally drive out bird tribes and clans, and any other non-tribe and clan bird living on that tribe or clan's land and then take over the emptied land."

"They had done just that with the red-fronted macaw clan a few days ago," said Felipe, "And when those bats drive out a bird tribe or clan and other birds on that tribe or clan's territory, they do so with savage and bloody force."

"Ugh," winced Jupiter, "Are those bats… a threat to you and the surrounding bird tribes and clans?"

"They are but we've managed to make an uneasy truce with the colony's then leaders Bruto and Sombra a few years ago that we macaws and other birds would not intrude into their territory and vice versa," said Felipe, "But who knows how long that'll last."

"That was them then," said Pearl, "But now the bats are much worse. One of Bruto and Sombra's sons, Cicatriz, has taken over as leader of the colony with his mate Iracebeth. Those two are no better than Bruto and Sombra and are as sadistic and as violent as them."

"Could those bats become a threat any time?" asked Mars nervously.

"I don't know but Demetrio and Reynaldo's patrollers are keeping a close eye on the border separating their land from the colony's land," said Felipe, "And some of my tribe's patrollers have also been keeping an eye on that border and bringing back regular updates. So far, there had been no mischief from those bats for the past few years."

"Well, that's a relief," said Jupiter. Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, however, cringed slightly as did Mars. However, Chiquitita and Ruby reassured Jupiter, Mars and their chicks that if there were any suspicious activities from the bats, they would know.

"Anyway, let's get back to our home," said Pearl, "I can't wait to start the celebrations."

"After that, I'll tell you more about Zephyr and Brisa," said Mars, "Zephyr's got a mate now, named Venus and they have six chicks named Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and ."

"Really, I'll look forward to hearing more about it," said Pearl, "Tell us after the dance, okay?"

"Congrats to him," said Felipe. And with that, the group of scarlet and green-winged macaws disappeared into the trees where other scarlet and green-winged macaws sat, chatting and eating fruit.

Back in the Spix macaw tribe's home, Eduardo was leading Venus out into the territory area outside the ravine. Venus was excited about the training session ahead. As she flew behind Eduardo, she was surprised at how fast Eduardo flew despite his age.

"Good grief, you're like a rocket," said Venus as she kept flapping quickly to keep up with him only to lag behind, "I can't keep up with you."

The two then emerged from the clutter of trees and flew over a snake of water.

"So, what will we be doing?" asked Venus.

"We're going to teach you camouflage techniques," said Eduardo, "How to get out of traps but… I'd assume Zephyr would have taught you some of the basic skills already…"

"Yes, he taught me how to forage and build a nest," said Venus.

"That's good," said Eduardo, "Now all we need to do is add to that repertoire of skills."

"Brilliant," said Venus excitedly. However, that excitement soon disappeared as fast as a log falling down a waterfall when Venus found herself standing on the edge of a puddle of slimy, brown mud. Eduardo perched on a low perch nearby. Venus shot the tribe leader a glare.

"You can't be serious," she muttered, "Do I have to step in THAT?"

"I'm afraid so, Venus," said Eduardo firmly, "To learn camouflage, you have to use mud besides bits of plant and leaves. Green plant material and flowers alone are not enough to conceal our bright blue feathers. It's a mandatory skill if you want to be part of my tribe."

"But only certain animals like dogs roll around in mud," said Venus, "It's not something we macaws, to my knowledge, have ever done."

When Eduardo replied with a stern look on his face, Venus sighed in slight exasperation and turned to face the mud. Reluctantly, she took one step into the brown ooze. Venus made a wrinkled face as she felt gloop cling onto her talons as she stepped further into the mud.

"This is gross," she said under her breath, "But if this is what I have to do, then what's the point of refusing?"

Then after another step until Venus was up to her waist in mud, she closed her eyes, held her breath and took the plunge. Viscous brown mud splashed up like thick treacle as the pigtailed Spix macaw rolled around like a dog in the puddle. Then as Venus stood up, she looked down and was disgusted to see that her maya blue plumage was replaced by a suit of brown sticky stuff. Furthermore, it did not feel very pleasant on her pigtails, as mud had turned the feathers into a pair of sticky gloop blocks. Though Venus looked disgusted at the brown covering, Eduardo fluttered down and said, "Brilliant. Right, can you follow me, please?"

And with that, he took off. Venus followed but found it a bit awkward to fly with the mud dripping from her wing flight feathers.

"So you use this to conceal your blue plumage?" she asked.

"That's right," said Eduardo, "Before Blu's human friends Linda and the man whom I can't remember his name…"

"Tulio," said Venus.

"Well, whatever his name is," said Eduardo, "We used to hate humans, especially poachers, and hide from them. Unfortunately our blue plumage made us stick out like a white mushroom against a black soil background. However, one tribe member had a brainwave which solved that problem and that was covering ourselves with mud."

Eduardo then led Venus towards a small spray of water ahead. Venus recognised this spot as where she and the others had found the tribe.

"Though mud's use to hide us from humans has pretty much become obsolete now that our home's a sanctuary with few exceptions," continued Eduardo, "We still use it to camouflage ourselves from predators like harpy eagles and jaguars on the ground."

"Interesting," said Venus. Then Eduardo led Venus through the small waterfall. As Venus flew through it, she shrieked slightly in shock from the unexpected cold of the water. But as she emerged out the other side, she was surprised that she was maya blue again. The mud had been washed off her plumage by the spray of water.

"Huh, glad to be blue again," said Venus in relief.

"Well, you might want to utilise mud again, Ventura," said Eduardo.

"Venus," corrected Venus.

"Venus," said Eduardo with the correct name, "What if you want to go on a patrol or rescue a fellow macaw from a trap set up by poachers or something? You don't want to be seen by predators or poachers. Though or home's now a sanctuary, we just want to be on the safe side."

Venus looked at him as she followed him.

"Right, now our next lesson is…" said Eduardo. Next, Venus found herself hanging upside down from a branch doing pull-ups.

"Up, up, up," commanded Eduardo. Venus gasped as her torso muscles tightened to pull her upper body up.

"I'm going to… end up with… aching muscles… by the… end of the… day," gasped Venus between breaths. Then Eduardo had Venus run along the tips of the jaws of some crocodiles. The crocs snapped their jaws shut, startling Venus into running faster.

"Faster," said Eduardo, "You don't want to be eaten."

Next, Venus found herself tied up in a cluster of vines suspended from a tree branch.

"You are all alone in the jungle, trapped in a trap such as vines," said Eduardo hidden somewhere, "You are far from help. You can't call for help because a predator might hear you. What do you do?"

Venus immediately knew the solution. When she and her group had been tangled up by Rafael and Eva's kids along with Blu and Jewel's three in a vine back in Rio, the macaws had used their beaks to bite their way out of the tangle. With this knowledge, Venus reached up to the vine hanging her from the branch and snapped her beak on it. She snapped two more vines and then dropped to the floor, shrieking briefly at the unexpected fall. As Venus got up and brushed herself of the remaining vine pieces, Eduardo appeared with a smile on his face.

"Well done, Venus," he said, "You knew the answer straight away. On the first try as well, just like Roberto."

"Roberto knew how to get out of vines?" asked Venus.

"He knew that his beak was the most important tool," said Eduardo, "Talons alone are often ineffective, especially in eating and self-defence, which I will show you after the next lesson…"

That next lesson took Eduardo and Venus to the main Amazon River. Venus was amazed at how wide the river was and how far it stretched as it sliced through the sea of green trees like a watery gash. As Eduardo led Venus close to the surface of the water, some pinkish-white or grey smears appeared in the dark blue-green water. At first Venus was alarmed but when the forms broke the surface and revealed themselves to be river dolphins, she was relieved. She had never seen river dolphins with her own eyes before, only ever seen them off a nature documentary when she lived as a pet back in London. Then Eduardo's commands snapped Venus out of her trance of the majestic water mammals.

"Under," said Eduardo and Venus quickly flew under a dolphin as it jumped into the air, quickly retreating before it crashed back into the water. Venus repeated this many more times, but having to fly under always flared up a flame of fear that Venus might be taken into the water by the dolphins if she did not move out from under them in time. However, these dolphins were quite high jumpers but she still had to be quick. Then after this session, Eduardo hi-fived (or hi-wing/finned) one of the dolphins and the pod dived back into the water. Venus got sprayed in the face by one of the dolphins but she intended to get squirted for she felt very hot and wanted to cool down. After the dolphins dived back into the water, Eduardo led Venus into a cluster of trees where they began to work on agility through the branches. At Eduardo's commands and directions given, Venus flew up, down, left or right to avoid crashing into branches. However, Venus was relatively used to flying through the trees having spent as few years living in the forest in Rio.

'I know one bird that is particularly good at flying through a forest clutter,' thought Venus as she focussed on her training, 'the goshawk. A marvel of God's creation, I believe."

Then after a while of this, Eduardo took Venus to a clearing where he flew backwards and said, "Backwards."

Venus looked on bewildered.

"We're not dragonflies, you know," she muttered. Next, Eduardo put Venus through some self-defence training. He showed her how to use her beak and talons as defence tools whenever she was under threat by a predator, such as a snake, or a poacher. However, Venus already knew that her beak and talons were a macaw and other parrots' best weapons to apply in self-defence. When she was a pet back in London, an African grey parrot that was a pet of one of Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake's friends had taught her, alongside Mercury, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, and Travis and Sunset, how to use her beak and talons to deter a human or any domestic animal that threatened her. Ceres had applied that knowledge by biting one of the poachers who was part of Frank's group back in Rio. Using that knowledge she had learned during her life as a pet, Venus ploughed through Eduardo's lessons in self-defence as smooth as a dolphin swam in the Amazon River. Eduardo was very impressed. After Venus had deterred a mock snake built from fruit and vine by biting at its body as it threatened to strangle her as a real snake would, Eduardo appeared and applauded her.

"Well done, Venus," he said, "You really know how to survive in the wild."

"Thanks," said Venus, happy at Eduardo's applause, "It seems that during my time as a human's pet, I had already learned some of the basics such as using my beak and talons in self-defence."

"That's good," said Eduardo. He then sighed and said, "You know, I would have despised you before my tribe and Felipe's and the other animals fought against the loggers because I detested anything to do with humans but now, I finally accept that not all humans are bad as we once thought."

"I know there are some humans who don't care about the environment or the animals," said Venus, "Like logging and poaching. I was actually a victim of poachers and so was my Lear's macaw friend, Mercury. My Mom, Dad and two sisters and Mercury's three siblings and parents had either been captured or killed during that chaos caused by a group of the smugglers as they intruded into our home to catch birds."

"You were born in the wild?" asked Eduardo.

"Yes but not here," said Venus, "I was born near Rio. My mum's name was Clarinda and my dad's name was Erico. My two sisters were called Izzy and Flo. Sadly, I lost all of them to poachers and I was taken, along with Mercury, to a human's city called London in a country across the Atlantic Ocean called the UK. Thankfully, we were raised by five loving owners."

She then asked, "Hadn't Blu told you about how ended up as a human's macaw in the Minnesota, the United States at all?"

"Not really," said Eduardo, "I'd love to hear his story but he doesn't seem to feel like discussing it with me…"

Suddenly, the two Spix macaws were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hi, Venus, hi, Eduardo," it shouted. At this, Eduardo and Venus turned and saw some blue-and-gold macaws fly past, among them a familiar family of nine.

"Saturn, Orquidea," said Venus, "What a nice surprise."

"Um, I hadn't noticed by this is the Spix/blue-and-gold border," said Eduardo.

"Oh, yeah, it is," said another male blue-and-gold macaw who was accompanied by a female. He then eyed Venus and said, "I can see you are training your new tribe member, Ed. Saturn told me all about her shortly after we had our reunion with Orquidea whom we lost to the fire so long ago with some of the other blue-and-gold macaws."

"Who are you?" asked Venus.

"Oh, these are my tribe leaders," said Orquidea, "Soleado and Zoie."

"Really?" said Venus and then she looked at the two macaws and said, "Pleased to meet you."

Then the male macaw, named Soleado who had a brilliant turquoise blue back, amber front parts and emerald green forehead, green eyes and a small feather ruffle behind his head, looked at Eduardo and said, "And I also heard that your daughter has returned."

"Oh yeah, she has," said Eduardo, "And so have Zephyr and Brisa. We had a great time celebrating their return with our dance 'Beautiful Creatures'."

"Yeah, we saw," said Saturn, "Venus danced really well to the song despite it being her first time."

Venus smiled at the compliment.

"We were just returning to our tribe's home patch," said the female macaw by Soleado's side. Zoie was a pretty female blue-and-gold. Her back parts were cyan while her front was a creamy yellow. Her forehead was green and Zoie had grey eyes and a small flick of flat feathers atop her crown just behind her green forehead.

"We're going to celebrate Orquidea's return with our dance 'Blue and Gold Feathers in the Blue Sky and Golden Sun' like how you Spix macaws had done Zephyr and Brisa's return," said Soleado, "And shortly after have Saturn join our tribe and then find him and his mate and seven chicks a large enough tree to live in."

"You should have seen the look on my face when I saw how massive Saturn and Orquidea's brood is," said Zoie, "Broods of six or seven chicks are extremely rare, you know. The highest number any macaw couple in our tribe has ever had was five chicks."

Venus then smiled at Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus as they hovered around their parents and Soleado and Zoie.

"Well, I hope those seven make friends with the blue-and-gold macaw tribe's chicks," she said. Then Eduardo interrupted.

"And I'd love to continue talking to you, Soleado, Saturn, Orquidea, Zoie but I have a lot to do," said Eduardo, "I'm going to finish Venus's training and then I will be sending out patrol groups."

"That's okay," said Soleado, "Zoie and I have a lot to do as well. Not only are we going to celebrate Orquidea's return and find her, Saturn and their seven chicks a tree but I'm also going to train Saturn the basics of survival in the Amazon among other things, so I'll see you next time."

And with that, he and Zoie left. Orquidea and Saturn smiled at Venus as they prepared to follow the blue-and-gold tribe leaders with their seven chicks.

"Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your lessons in jungle survival, Venus and we'll see you when we meet again," said Saturn. Then he flew away with Mimas, Enceladus, Titan and Iapetus in tow.

"Let us know how well you are adapting to the Spix macaw tribe, won't you?" said Orquidea as she left with Dione, Tethys and Rhea behind her.

"I will," said Venus as the group of blue-and-gold macaws left. Then she left with Eduardo to continue her training.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- finding the Lear's macaw tribe and Sapphire's reunion**

While Venus continued her training with Eduardo, Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo had found the Navyfeather Clan and Ultramarine had been welcomed back by her older brother Marinho, uncle Flavio and the other hyacinth macaw clan members. Flavio was a widower but he had opted against finding another mate to replace the one he lost, but the news that his mate had died had broken him, taking him months to recover. While Ultramarine had also been welcomed back by her clan Neptune, Triton and Indigo had been welcomed warmly. A little while later, Cobalto, Ceres, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul had found the Bluewing Clan and blue-throated macaw clan and Cobalto had been welcomed back by his clan members and his hyacinth macaw friends, and the leader of his clan Reynaldo. Ceres and the brothers had also been welcomed and both the blue-throated macaw and Bluewing clans and the Navyfeather Clan had celebrated with their dances. While this happened to Ultramarine and Cobalto's families, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Annette and Jasmine, with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa with them, continued to fly in the direction of the Lear's tribe's territory while Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon were flying in the direction of the green macaws' territory. As Mercury's group flew through the trees, Sapphire was worried.

"Based on what Tornado and Gael said about my tribe and Esmeralda's still being in conflict and the territories of both of those macaw tribes not being included in the sanctuary is very worrying," she told Mercury, her daughters and the cockatoo family, "We need to tell the leaders that but the question is, how are we going to get our tribe to make peace with Esmeralda's?"

"That's easier said than done, isn't it?" asked Travis.

"I remember how the red tribe and the Spix tribe used to hate each other and have frequent conflict especially at the Brazil nut grove," said Sapphire, "and how their collaboration in driving off the loggers had melted that cold feud between the two. But like the red and Spix macaws before that battle against the loggers, the Lear's and green tribes still despise each other and also have conflict over a grove: the camu-camu fruit bush grove. The green/Lear's border runs right through it like how the Spix/red border does the Brazil nut grove."

"What happens whenever some green macaws meet the Lear's macaws at the grove?" asked Sunset.

"Does a fight break out?" asked Mercury.

"Sometimes," said Sapphire, "But the most common mode of confrontation is scorn and mockery including the shouting of demeaning comments at each other as well as suspicion with one group from one tribe watching the other from the other tribe. When I despised Esmeralda when we were chicks, I often watched her and sometimes called her names whenever we met at the camu-camu fruit grove."

Sapphire sighed and said, "I deeply regret doing that now. I just hope our friendship with Uranus's family will be an example to the other Lear's and green macaws."

She turned to Travis and said, "And to answer your question about it being easier said than done, you're right, Travis. This is going to be a difficult challenge."

"I think it's going to be a difficult challenge for me too," said Mercury.

"How so?" asked Sunset.

"Well, those Lear's macaws might despise humans like how Eduardo's tribe did," said Mercury, "and if the same is true with the green tribe, Uranus is also going to run into problems."

"We'll figure that out when we find the Lear's macaws," said Sapphire. Then the group of Lear's macaws and cockatoos flew on. Mercury, despite his worries, felt a wave of achievement that he had fulfilled his parents' dream in finding other Lear's macaws. Venus's parents' dream in finding more Spix macaws had already been fulfilled by Blu, Jewel and their chicks, Carla, Bia and Tiago. She had just followed their flight path but Mercury was actually doing this himself alongside Sapphire and their three daughters and Travis and his family. As the scenery of the surrounding trees passed the group, Eustace admired the variety of flowers and insects dotting the green sea of leaves. However, he knew he couldn't afford to stop and gaze at them after what happened to Wilbur when the group was trying to find the Spix macaw tribe. Sunset called him when he began to lag behind and Eustace immediately picked up flapping frequency to keep up with his parents and siblings. As the group flew on, Mercury said, "Where are we, Sapphire?"

"We should be out of the Spix macaws' territory by now and in the territory of the Lear's macaws," said Sapphire, "And if we're lucky, we might even see a group of ornithologists in which your former owners Susan and Lucy are a part of."

"I hope we're not in the green tribe's territory," said Travis with uncertainty, "Otherwise we'd be in trouble."

"I'm pretty sure it isn't," said Sapphire, "If I remember, this is roughly where I met some of the Spix macaws when I was a chick. My Mom and Dad took me and my sister to the Spix/Lear's border to introduce us to some of the Spix macaws and I remember meeting Jewel, Roberto, Zephyr and Roxie, who is now the Spix macaws' score-marker."

"You met Jewel and Roberto?" asked Mercury curiously.

"I was friends with them, don't you remember me telling you?" asked Sapphire, "So were Ultramarine, Orquidea, Cobalto and surprisingly Esmeralda though Esmeralda was less involved because of her then hatred of me as influenced by her tribe's hatred of mine."

Sapphire then looked around at the surroundings.

"We should be in the Lear's macaws' territory by now" she said, "But I don't see any flash of navy blue and teal."

Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette then looked around as did Sunset, Travis, Eustace, Rosa and Milo. It was indeed quiet and there wasn't a macaw in sight.

"That's strange," said Travis, "When we flew through the Spix macaws' territory on the way to their ravine, we saw dozens of Spix macaws sitting in the trees but this place…"

Sunset then listened and heard some birdcalls.

"This place is definitely not flying fox territory as there are birdcalls around," she said. Sapphire shot the Major Mitchell's cockatoo a serious glare.

"If that were the case, we'd be dead on the spot," she said, "Those bats would kill a bird instantly if they ever found them on their patch."

"Sunset," growled Travis angrily, making Sunset flinch, "Watch what you say. It's a sensitive subject."

"It's alright," said Sapphire, "It's something every bird around here should know about those bats especially newcomers to the Amazon such as you five, Mercury and our daughters. You need to be especially careful of where you fly. Hopefully, when we find my tribe, they'll show us where the flying fixes live and that the place is to be avoided."

"I hope they do," said Mercury, "I hope I'll never meet those bats."

"Have you met them before, Mrs Sapphire?" asked Rosa.

"I did get a glimpse of a group but I avoided them the day after I had escaped the fire," said Sapphire, "When I was a chick. Those bats are bad news, they are; you 're to go nowhere near any of them."

"We understand that," said Travis. Then the group continued flying on. However, they were unaware that they were being watched. AS Mercury, Travis and their families flew past one large patch of leaves on a branch of a tree; three pairs of eyes opened in the large green cluster and gazed after the cockatoos and Lear's macaws. However, below the eyes were sliders of dark grey. The leaves then rustled and the sounds of three pairs of flapping feathered wings were heard. Mercury, Sapphire, Travis and Sunset and their chicks continued flying on until Travis saw something below the group.

"Hey, guys look down there," he said. The group stopped and hovered as Travis pointed a talon down at what he saw. Mercury followed his gaze until his grey eyes landed on what Travis spotted. Several tens of metres through the canopy towards the forest floor below the group appeared to be a setup of some kind on the forest floor. Mercury looked hard at it and recognised the setup though it was well camouflaged with the surrounding vegetation but he did pick out a few objects that were not the same or similar colour as the surroundings.

"It must be the human expedition group's tents," he said, "Sort of a makeshift base where they can stay in the Amazon rainforest without having to risk trekking for ages through this risky environment in search of a hotel since the nearest one could be miles and miles and miles away."

"Yeah," said Sunset, "And there are a lot of dangerous animals around such as anacondas and jaguars."

"Look how well camouflaged their tents are," said Sapphire.

"It's to hide the humans from any potentially dangerous animal that could be prowling around when the ornithologists sleep at night," said Mercury, "They also use one of those tents as a medical facility for treating anyone in the group that for example, have suffered a bite or have had an accident."

"It's very clever how those nature studiers have set up those objects," said Sapphire with a smile, "And very smart too. I admire their clever ideas sometimes."

Then Mercury descended through the canopy towards the human expedition group's tents. The p0thers followed. As the group descended through the canopy after Mercury, Phoebe asked, "What's 'camouflage', Mom?"

"It's when an animal blends in with its surroundings, Phoebe," explained Sapphire, "For example, a green bug on a leaf or black moth against a sooty tree trunk. There are a variety of ways animals camouflage themselves…"

"That's a question for Bia or Ganymede, sis," said Annette with a smile, "You should have asked one of them two before we left."

"Yeah, they're real nature freaks," said Jasmine. Phoebe smiled. Soon the group landed on the forest floor and looked at the human setup down at ground floor level. It was indeed a set of large tents hung up onto some nearby tree branches, but they were not like the tents Mercury, Travis and Sunset were familiar with. These were special tents. The covering of the tents were a mottled green, brown and black pattern, like the outfits Mercury, Travis and Sunset had seen soldiers and army officials wear and below the sheets were beds which Mercury identified as hammocks. A large black device was set up nearby under another large sheet which Mercury identified as a cooking device, similar to the device humans sometimes use to cook meat during an outdoor barbeque. While Mercury, Sapphire, Travis, Sunset and their chicks browsed the expeditioners' campsite, a few blurs flew high in the trees overhead. They were macaw shaped creatures but Mercury, Travis and their families did not see them. In the shadows of one of the tree's branches, two pairs of eyes, each with a beak below them looked down at the two families. The five cockatoos and five Lear's macaws continued looking around at the campsite. It was empty. The expeditioners must be out on one of their field trips. As the group browsed the empty campsite, Mercury caught sighted something glinting by one of the suspended hammocks below the army-mottled sheets and flew over to it. Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette followed. As Mercury landed in front of the glinting thing, he saw that it was a picture frame. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also landed and looked at the picture.

"(Gasp), it's a picture of us," said Mercury when he saw who was in the picture.

"It's before we had our chicks, kittens and puppies," said Travis. Indeed it was. The picture was the picture of Mercury and the others standing in their respective couples. The twelve couples were arranged in three rows. In the front row were Mercury and Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr and Brisa, Mars and Chiquitita and Jupiter and Ruby; in the middle row behind the first were Saturn, Orquidea, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine and Cobalto and Ceres, apparently sat on an elevated perch, and behind them were Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Travis, Sunset, Veggie, Catina, Dash and Ginger also sat on an elevated seat set to higher than the middle row group's. Mercury smiled as he gazed at the animals looking back at him with smiles on their faces.

"Susan and Lucy are definitely here," he said, "This must be the graduate bird ecologist group's base."

"Then that means we're in the right place," said Travis, "Since they were the ones who had apparently discovered that Lear's macaw."

Mercury continued gazing at the picture of the animals when Sapphire said, "Come on, let's leave before those bird ecologists return. We don't want them to find us here looking through their stuff."

"Quite right," said Sunset. She then shouted, "Leave that alone, you three, it's dangerous!"

Eustace, Rosa and Milo, at this, stopped fluttering around the black barbeque device and returned to their mother's side. Then Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette gathered around Mercury and Sapphire as they prepared to leave when suddenly, they heard some leaves rustling. The four adult birds stiffened.

"Oh, not again," muttered Mercury indignantly.

"Don't tell me this is the second time we've got to face this since the capture by those disguised Spix macaws when we strayed too close to a jaguar's den we did not see," said Sunset as she looked around. Then the ten birds walked away from Susan and Lucy's graduate bird ecologist group's base towards some trees when another rustling of leaves sounded. Mercury, Sapphire, Travis and Sunset's heads whipped in the direction of the rustling while the six chicks cowered against their parents' bellies. Behind the group, two macaw-shaped birds peered down at the group. They were brown and orange with leaves and twigs on their heads and parts of their bodies. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette cowered against their mother's belly feathers.

"Mom, I'm scared," murmured Phoebe.

"So am I," whimpered Annette timidly.

"Could there be an attacker?" squeaked Jasmine. Sapphire protectively hugged her daughters with her wings.

"I don't know, you three but I hope not," she said with blue eyes widened with fear. The sisters cowered against her in her wings. Sunset had her wings protectively around Eustace, Rosa and Milo while Mercury and Travis, the latter's yellow crest fully raised, looked around with defensive scowls on their faces. Then another sound filled the air but it was not the sound of leaves rustling, but the sounds of talking. Sapphire raised her head on recognising that sound.

"It's the graduate group," she said to the others, "Sounds like they are returning. Let's leave."

Mercury, Travis and Sunset heard the sounds of humans talking grow louder, accompanied by some sounds of vegetation being cut and small plants rustling.

"It is," said Travis "Let's get out of here before those humans make their appearance."

However, he did not see a brown and orange creature with leaves and twigs swoop down on the group from behind.

"And before whoever could be watching us jumps out at us," said Mercury. No sooner had this sentence escaped his beak when a brown, orange and green blur shot in sand grabbed Travis by the neck! This action startled the others.

"TOO LATE!" screeched Sunset as she saw Travis screech and cry out in shock. Then before Sunset could spread her wings and pursue Travis and his captor, a few more brown macaw like creatures covered in plant material swooped in from behind. One grabbed Sunset by the neck while another scooped up Eustace, Rosa and Milo at the same time. Then Mercury and Sapphire were grabbed by the necks by two more macaw-like creatures, one each, and then Phoebe and Jasmine were grabbed by another and Annette by another. The three sisters screamed as they found themselves hauled into the air by the two macaw-like creatures that had them in their talons. Soon, the five Lear's macaws, sulfur-crested cockatoo, Major Mitchell's cockatoo and the three hybrids of the two latter species were carried through the air, all by brown macaw-like creatures covered in leaves and twigs. As Mercury was whisked through the vegetation, flailing like a fish caught by a predator, carried by the neck, he thought he saw a few flashes of colour through gaps in the vegetation of the canopy. He then saw them through a larger break in the vegetation screening the forest floor: two-legged figures with objects on their backs walking through the vegetation. However, they soon disappeared from view as more vegetation masked them. He then began squawking loudly at his captor. Up in front, Sunset was screeching like a cockatoo having a serious hissy fit. Her entire plumage, especially her red, yellow and pink-white crest, was puffed out violently.

"LET ME GO, YOU MENACE!" she screeched loudly, "THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN ONE DAY THIS HAS HAPPENED!"

Her captor, however, did not answer and continued carrying her off. Close by Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were screaming as though they were in agony as their captor also carried them in its talons through the vegetation. Travis and Sapphire were also screeching as they were carried away by their captors. Then Travis saw two more brown macaw-like creatures wearing leaves and twigs on their heads and bodies fly alongside the group's captors. The group of brown macaw-like birds continued flying through the vegetation for a few more seconds until finally, Travis, Sunset, Mercury and Sapphire heard one of them say, "That's it, folks, we're a safe distance from those humans now. You may release them."

At this, Sunset prepared to be dropped. She spread her wings out a second before her captor released her. Sunset then fell through the canopy. She flailed at first, struggling to position her body correctly to start flying but she managed to do so in time, a second before she hit the floor. Travis, Mercury, Sapphire and the six chicks, however, were not as prepared and were sent plummeting to the forest floor as their captors dropped them. The five Lear's macaws, sulfur-crested cockatoo and the three Major Mitchell's/sulfur-crested hybrid cockatoo chicks then crashed onto the floor into a violent tumble like Sunset did when those disguised Spix macaws dropped her. The moment they had stopped tumbling, Mercury, covered in leaf litter and mud, immediately swept the dazed Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette into a protective hug while Sapphire woozily got up. Travis also struggled to get up but Sunset flew in and helped him up. She then scooped up the also dazed Eustace, Milo and Rosa into a protective hug and glared bitterly at the brown macaw-like creatures.

"Well done, folks," said a voice, which Sunset assumed was one of the brown macaw-like creatures, "Now let's remove the camouflage suit and examine those apparent outsiders closer."

At this, Mercury knew that the brown macaw creatures were going to inspect them.

"I hope these disguised macaws aren't green macaws," he murmured as the brown macaw-like birds disappeared into the trees. Travis and Sunset continued looking up at where the macaw-like birds had flown while Sunset continued hugging her three trembling hybrid chicks. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were also trembling, shaken from the shock of being carried away and then dropped. Then Travis shouted, "Look!"

As this, the group looked around at the tree branches as they began to fill with birds: dark navy blue birds with black beaks. However, they were too small to be hyacinth macaws. On closer examination, the macaws' faces and chests were tinged with dark teal and their eye rings and beak lappets were yellow to yellow-orange, just like Mercury, Sapphire and their daughters. The faces of these dark navy blue birds were filled with wonder and curiosity as they gazed at the intruders. Sunset immediately recognised the macaws.

"I think they must be the Lear's macaws we're looking for," she said.

"Looks like it," said Travis as he looked at the faces of some of the macaws closely, "They have teal tinged faces and chests like Mercury, Sapphire and their daughters do."

"Then we've finally fulfilled my family's dream of finding others like ourselves," said Mercury delightfully, "Mum, Dad, Chico, Ashley and Jackie would have been thrilled to see this."

"I'm sure they would, Mercury," said Sapphire with a comforting wing on his shoulder.

"Hey, Mom, Dad," said Phoebe, "Some of the birds are coming towards us."

At this, Mercury and Sapphire looked up and saw three of the macaws touch down and then walk towards them. They wore slightly suspicious and wondered looks on their faces as they looked particularly at Sapphire. Two were male and the other was female.

"Hey, Alejandro, are you seeing what I am seeing?" asked one of the male macaws as he looked at Sapphire who just looked back at him confused.

"I don't know, Waldo but I remember our matriarch Rosalind talking about her first-cousin-once-removed and your half-sister Sapphire being missing since the fire…" said the other male, apparently named Alejandro. When Sapphire heard the macaw mention her name, she popped up and gasped. Then the first male apparently named Waldo tipped his head to one side in confusion.

"Looks like those macaws know you, Sapphire," said Travis.

"Wait a minute," the macaw named Waldo said, looking at Sapphire up and down, "Is it my eyes deceiving me or am I actually looking at the macaw, the half-sister I had, that used to have the unusual set of head feathers almost like Roberto from the Spix macaw tribe but longer when we were chicks?"

Sapphire at first, stood there, speechless until she finally find words to make a reply.

"Well, I can assure you I am quite real," she said, "And speaking of that chick that had head feathers similar to Roberto, I think she is standing right here…"

Then she and the macaw stopped and gazed at each other.

"Shall I get our leaders Rosalind and Valentino?" asked the female behind the two males. The male named Alejandro turned to her and said, "Yes, please do, Flora."

At this, the female named Flora hastily lofted into flight and disappeared into the trees. Sapphire and the male macaw named Waldo continued staring at each other until finally they suddenly erupted into utter joy and jubilation, making Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa jump. They whooped and cheered loudly and hugged each other in a spin.

"What's going on?" asked Mercury curiously. Then after Sapphire and Waldo stopped spinning and broke their embrace, Sapphire introduced Waldo to him.

"This is Waldo, Mercury," she said, "And Alejandro there. Waldo's my older half-brother and Alejandro's my childhood friend."

"Half-brother?" repeated Mercury.

"My biological father was killed by a jaguar when I was a chick," said Waldo, "And my Mom took another mate and had Sapphire, my half-sister and he had become my stepdad. I and Sapphire are also Rosalind's first-cousin-once-removed as Mom is her cousin."

"We've missed you so much since you were reported missing since the fire, sis," said Waldo, a tear running down his cheek, "I, Mom and my stepdad who was also your dad were devastated after the news, as was Rosalind and her then-boyfriend Valentino and our friends. You were such a wonderful chic,k too young to have something like that happening to you."

"He then hugged Sapphire again and the two began to cry. After they broke the embrace again, Waldo smiled.

"But to see you alive and well, and all grown up after all these years," he continued, grasping Sapphire's wings, "It's like an utter miracle. My mother and stepfather had searched everywhere for you with some other friends but when they returned empty-taloned, I was in tears for days."

"I bet you were," said Sapphire. Waldo then admired Sapphire's appearance, amazed to see how much she had changed as she grew up.

"Look, you look just like your mother," he said, "You have her blue eyes and long head feathers. In fact you're like a spitting image of her."

"And you also look quite different as well," said Sapphire. Mercury then looked at Waldo. Like every other Lear's macaw, Waldo had dark navy blue feathers and a teal-tinted face and chest. However, Waldo's teal markings were large patches around his eyes while he had a bib-like mark of more teal extending down over his chest from below his beak and beak lappet. His beak lappet and eye rings were yellow. Waldo's eyes were a teal colour and his head feathers were a flick behind his head. He had no other obvious feathers on top of his head and his body build was slender, more so than his younger half-sister's build. Sapphire then asked, "Are Mom and Dad still alive?"

Waldo, at this, gave her a silent answer with a sombre look on his face. However, Alejandro gave the answer in words.

"I'm afraid not, my friend," he said sadly, "They were killed in a logging incident when a tree fell on them."

At this, Sapphire looked down with tears in her eyes. Mercury put a comforting wing on her shoulder. Waldo also made a sad look.

"I just can't believe that you'd be missing for the past sixteen plus years or so," he said with tears in his eyes, "It makes me sick with sorrow and anguish to think of you having to learn how to fend for yourself after you had just fledged… having to watch out for danger, again all by yourself…"

"How did you manage to survive out there, alone?" asked Alejandro. Then his eyes landed on Mercury and three small chicks standing beside him. At this, his eyes widened. Waldo's eyes also widened when he saw Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.

"Sapphire, are you…" began Waldo before his tongue froze. Sapphire, at this, looked at Mercury, Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine and smiled.

"Oh, Waldo, Alejandro," she said, "This is my mate Mercury, I met him during the time I was missing and we had three daughters, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette."

"Really!?" gasped Waldo flabbergasted, "B-but I wouldn't have thought other Lear's macaws could be found _outside_ our tribe."

"The only other Lear's macaw flock we know of is that colony on the far east of Brazil," said Alejandro. Waldo then walked over to Mercury and held a wing out.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Marcel," he said, getting Mercury's name wrong. Mercury, at first, hesitated before reaching for Waldo's wing and shaking it.

"I had no idea that Sapphire had any siblings or half-siblings that would have survived the disaster," he said. Sapphire looked at him.

"I hadn't told you much about my tribe, that's the thing," she said, "It was too painful to discuss but yes, I do have relatives and Waldo is one of them."

Waldo then admired Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine who shyly raised a wing to wave to him. Waldo smiled.

"I'm an uncle," he said proudly.

"Sorry but our chicks are a little shy, Waldo," said Sapphire with an amused look on her face. She then turned to the sisters and said, "Say 'Hi' to Waldo."

"Hi," squeaked the three chicks in unison. Waldo tittered before seeing Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa standing nearby.

"And who are those five?" he asked. Alejandro then looked at them closely.

"We've never seen parrots like them before," he said, "What sort of macaws are you five?"

"Oh, we're not macaws," said Travis, "We're cockatoos and friends of Mercury, Sapphire and their chicks."

"Cockatoos?" asked Waldo confused.

"They're a type of parrot with a crest," explained Mercury, "Travis is a sulfur-crested cockatoo, Sunset is a Major Mitchell's cockatoo and their chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa are hybrids of the two species."

"Interesting," said Waldo intrigued. He then greeted Travis and Sunset with a wing-shake each.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Waldo," said Travis.

"And a real privilege," said Sunset. Eustace, Rosa and Milo also squeaked excitedly. After Waldo had greeted the family, Travis then made a frown.

"By the way, were you the ones who whisked us away from those humans' campsite?" he asked, "If so, why did you do that?"

Waldo, at this, made a slight scowl.

"Humans' campsites are dangerous spots," he said firmly, "I don't know why we have those pesky humans in our patch but they're a nuisance. Valentino has been sending out patrollers to monitor that group of two-legged pests to see if they are planning some sort of poaching operation or something."

He did not see Mercury's eyes blink as he found this description slightly hurtful. Then Alejandro stepped in, an angry look on his face.

"One of us has already been spotted," he added, "And after Valentino and Rosalind heard that news, they almost went berserk. We don't tolerate poachers, you know. Being rare birds, we're just some ultra-valuable birds to catch by those pesky smugglers. Valentino has a bitter hatred of them. He lost his entire family to a bunch of poachers when he was an adolescent."

"Has he?" asked Travis. Alejandro nodded with a frown on his face.

"Are you assuming these humans are poachers?" asked Sunset.

"They could be," said Waldo darkly, "Our enemies, the green macaws, have also had problems with poachers and logging activity. As much as we hate that tribe, we were saddened that they had lost so many individuals to that fire many years ago, among them that brat Esmeralda but despite that, we still hate those green feathered macaws."

Sapphire managed to restrain an urge to become angry when she heard what Waldo called Esmeralda while Mercury made a face as if to say, "This sure isn't going to be easy."

"But those humans are what are known as bird ecologists or humans that study birds in their environment," said Travis, "They're…"

"Possibly planning on poaching us?" said Waldo with slitted eyes, "That's a possibility alright."

"No, I mean…" began Travis.

"If you think that those humans are good, they are not," said Alejandro, "They're nothing but trouble and they need to be removed from our patch. The last thing we want is our secrecy divulged. Now be quiet about it. We don't wanna hear any more about that subject. Valentino and Rosalind are going to turn up any moment."

Then as if on cue the female macaw named Flora returned with two more macaws behind her.

"They're here, Waldo and Alejandro," she said. Then within moments, two more macaws flew in and touched down. The two macaws were a male and a female. Like all Lear's macaws, they had dark navy blue feathers and teal marks on their faces and chests, black beaks and feet, and yellow or yellow-orange beak lappets and eye rings. The male had a stocky build, brown eyes and a small sheet of feathers behind his head while the female had a slender build, head feathers tied into a short ponytail with a vine and aqua blue eyes. Both the macaws looked around the same age as Eduardo and had grey bags under their eyes. When the female saw Sapphire her aqua blue eyes widened and her beak dropped open in utter shock.

"Sapphire," she breathed, "Is that really you?"

The male also looked shocked. "Are you one of the macaws that went missing from our tribe after that fire well over sixteen years ago?"

"Yes," said Sapphire with a smile. Then without further hesitation, she rushed towards the female and jumped into her wings. The female hugged her back.

"I can't believe this!" shouted the female in utter joy, "My other first-cousin, once-removed has survived the fire after all!"

"After all this time as well," said the male as he joined the hug. Mercury assumed that these two were the Lear's macaw tribe's leaders, Valentino and Rosalind. After Rosalind then broke the hug with Sapphire and Valentino moved aside, Rosalind smiled to Sapphire.

"Welcome home, my first-cousin, once-removed," she said delightfully, "And I'm sure your half-brother Waldo was very happy to see you again."

"I was," said Waldo, "She also has a mate and three pretty daughters, and these five weird looking crested parrot friends with her."

"We're cockatoos," said Sunset slightly irritated. Valentino and Rosalind then turned to Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and smiled.

"I see," said Valentino, "And… did you meet this guy while you were out there after you were separated from the fire?"

"Yes," said Sapphire, "That's Mercury. He's my mate and those are our chicks Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. And those cockatoos are our friends. Travis is the white one with the yellow crest and markings; Sunset is the pink and white one with the red and yellow crest, and the three little ones are their chicks Eustace, Rosa and Milo."

Valentino and Rosalind then introduced themselves to the nine. Suddenly, a Lear's macaw flew in.

"Those humans are heading this way, Valentino," she said. Valentino, at this, popped his head up.

"Right, then let's get out of here," he said. Turning to Mercury and the others, he said, "You lot come with us. You don't want to be spotted."

Mercury, at first, was about to say something but seeing the stern look in Valentino's eyes, he obeyed. And with that, the air was filled with the clapping noises of navy blue Lear's macaw wings and the wings of five cockatoos as the whole lot took off into the air to disappear into the trees before the group of humans (which were Susan and Lucy's graduate bird ecology group) could appear and see them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- the Lear's macaws' home patch**

Sapphire, Mercury, Phoebe, Annette, Jasmine and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa followed Valentino, Rosalind, Waldo, Alejandro and the other Lear's macaws through the trees. Around them, dozens of Lear's macaws dotted the green trees. Like Venus was with the Spix macaws, Mercury was amazed at the number of Lear's macaws, individual birds like himself numbering in the hundreds. However, he knew that the Lear's macaw tribe and their neighbours, the green macaw tribe, must have their habitats included in the sanctuary if they are to be protected against the devastation caused by logging. Soon, what appeared to be the central home of the tribe emerged into view.

"Is that your home?" asked Mercury when he saw a large cliff with an opening in the rock.

"It is, yes," said Valentino, "It's a ravine that has a rocky cliff face on one side, a sandstone cliff face on the other and a few trees scattered in the middle. It's been our home for generations."

Then as Valentino and Rosalind led the group through the opening which was the entrance of the ravine, the interior opened. Gasps were drawn in by Mercury, Travis and Sunset while the chicks awed at the beautiful habitat. The habitat was like the Spix macaws' ravine but there was no big waterfall. However, there were three small waterfalls trickling from above one of the cliffs and emptied into a larger stream at the bottom. One side of the ravine was a rocky cliff face and in it were dozens and dozens and dozens of holes which some of the Lear's macaws lived in, while on the other side, a sandstone cliff face was present. It too, was dotted by Lear's macaws who made their homes in holes in the soft sandstone which they built themselves. There was a grove of trees growing in the middle of the ravine but very few Lear's macaws lived in the hollows of the trees. Most of the trees were licuri palm nut trees but some of the other trees were fruit trees, and Mercury thought he saw a few mangos on two of them, indicating that those trees were mango trees. On one side of the ravine where the light orange sandstone faded to the solid grey rock was an opening which Sunset and Travis deduced led to a cave underground. Flowers and other exotic plants swamped the bottom of the ravine on either side of the stream in which the three waterfalls emptied. It truly was a beautiful sight to behold and it appeared that the Lear's macaws' ravine had more flowers than the Spix macaws' ravine. Rumour had it that most Lear's macaws had a love for anything colourful with flowers being one of them. There were bromeliads, orchids, hibiscus flowers and many others growing in the bottom of the ravine. It was like a secret paradise garden. On the stream's banks, several Lear's macaws dotted the clay spots, consuming clay to help with digestion.

"This is so different to the Spix macaws' ravine," said Mercury in awe, "They have a large pool in the bottom but this has a stream."

"The stream is too shallow for dangerous fish like piranhas to hide in," said Rosalind, "Ever since our ancestors left the colony in the sandstone cliffs in Bahia to look for somewhere else to settle, they chose this spot because it has a sandstone cliff face and its rocky face is dotted with lots and lots of holes and we prefer our nests to be in cliff face holes, though we sometimes use trees as well. Since then, we have lived here for generations."

"How many members of your tribe are there?" asked Travis.

"Around two hundred or more," said Valentino, "About the size of Eduardo, Felipe, Alonso and Soleado's tribes. We have also chosen this spot because it is virtually inaccessible to humans."

He then nodded to the mouth in the rock on the ground next to the sandstone border and said, "That leads to an underground cave. We take refuge in that whenever a forest fire occurs. We took refuge in that during the last fire caused by loggers."

"Interesting," said Mercury.

"I actually thought you would have died," said Sapphire.

"That fire took us by surprise and we lost quite a few individuals," said Waldo. He then shuddered at the memories and said, "It was an inferno, it was. Since then we had been on the alert of loggers, that group of humans that caused the fire in the first place, and also prepared for action should it ever happen again."

Mercury was about to say something about the humans setting up the Lear's tribe's home as part of the sanctuary but based on Valentino's description of how much the Lear's macaws loathed humans, he decided to leave it till later. As the group flew around the ravine, Valentino began to shout out.

"Everybody, look who's returned," shouted the patriarch at the top of his voice so that it echoed around the ravine, "Sapphire is back!"

"She has survived the fire and has returned after so many years," shouted Rosalind. As the group flew past the cliff face hole homes, dozens of teal green tinged faces with yellow-orange eye rings and beak lappets peered out from the holes while some that were flying also saw the group as it flew past. Valentino then led the group to his hole in the far end of the ravine. It had a large tree close to it and there was also a rocky ledge which Valentino and Rosalind stood on before flying out or entering the rocky hollow. On either side of the entrance to Valentino and Rosalind's hole were a cluster of brightly coloured flowers growing in some dips filled with soil. Dozens of other ledges leading to many of the other Lear's macaws' rocky cliff face holes also had pits filled with soil and flowers. As the group touched down on this ledge, Valentino nodded to the other Lear's macaws that had accompanied him to dismiss them. The Lear's macaws then scattered, leaving only Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Annette, Jasmine, Waldo and Alejandro standing with the cockatoo family.

"Right, now that we're in our home," said Valentino, "We're going to do the following. We're going to find you, Sapphire, and your family a hole in the cliff face, either a rocky hole or one in the sandstone face, or a tree hollow to live in…"

"Tree or cliff face hole it doesn't matter," said Sapphire.

"I have never stayed in a cliff face hole before," said Mercury, "But I am willing to try it."

"And then I'm going to train Murphy here how to survive in the jungle," said Valentino.

"It's Mercury," said Mercury.

"Whatever," said Valentino. He then smiled at Sapphire and said, "But first…"

But before he could say whatever he had on mind, someone shouted, "Sapphire!"

At this, Sapphire turned and saw a bulky male macaw look at her in shock and awe from a tree.

"Is it really you?" said the bulky macaw and with that he flew over to her.

"Archie?" gasped Sapphire in shock. When the two met, they embraced in a hug. When they broke the hug, Archie, the macaw's name, looked at Sapphire and smiled.

"I can't believe you're alive," he said, "Did you survive that fire? If so, how did you manage to fend for yourself out there?"

"It's a long story," said Sapphire. Archie smiled and hugged her again. Mercury looked on in wonder as did Travis and Sunset.

"It's good to have you back," Archie said during the hug. After he broke the hug, Valentino came in and patted the rather bulky macaw on the back. Archie was quite burly, like Jupiter. He had green eyes and a short feather ruffle on the back of his head.

"Heh, how's my new patroller and Pit of Doom team member?" asked Valentino with a smile.

"Pit of Doom?" repeated Mercury.

"It's a crater in which soccer wars between two tribes take place," said Waldo, "The walls of the crater serve as stands and the space above the pool is the stadium. The aim of the game is to shoot a ball into the opposing team's goal. We use it to settle disputes without fighting. We've had matches against those green macaw menaces several times before in that Pit."

"It seems confusing to play soccer to resolve disputes but at least it's not actually a fighting war," said Mercury.

"We actually do fight but not with talons or beaks," said Alejandro. Archie then smiled at Valentino and Rosalind.

"I'm just fine, thanks," he said, "I'm ready for the next patrolling task when you're ready."

"I'll see to that once we've had a celebratory dance," said Valentino.

"Oh, brilliant," said Archie with a smile. He then turned to Sapphire and said, "Would you like to dance with me to 'Elegant Navy Birds in the Glorious Jungle'?"

Sapphire, at this, looked from Archie to Mercury and then back to Archie.

"As much as I'd love to, Archie but…" she replied, "I already have a mate and I don't want to imply that I'm cheating on him by dancing with you."

Sapphire then turned to look at Mercury and said, "I would rather dance with him like how Venus danced with Zephyr during the Spix tribe's 'Beautiful Creatures' dance."

"Zephyr and Brisa?" repeated Waldo, "Have they returned as well?"

"We were told by the Spix macaws that Eduardo's daughter Jewel had returned," said Alejandro.

"They have survived the fire alongside Ruby and Chiquitita from the red tribe," said Mercury, "Orquidea from the blue-and-gold macaw tribe, Cobalto from the blue-throated macaw clan, Ultramarine from the Navyfeather hyacinth Clan, and Esmeralda from the green macaw tribe."

"Esmeralda?" repeated Archie. Then his face turned sour. "Oh, that great green macaw's an utter brat, honestly. If I ever see that brat again, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind."

Mercury, at this, was about to retort but then Archie interrupted.

"But that's not important," said Archie, his anger and hatred for Esmeralda cooled off, "Let's get prepared to dance to our theme song."

He then looked at Sapphire and said, "But if you don't want to dance with me… then that's your choice. After all, I cannot dictate your choices."

"Thank you," said Sapphire. Then Archie flew away to prepare to start the song up. However, Sapphire did not see Archie look back at Mercury with a slightly envious look tinting his eyes.

"So, is there any makeup we have to wear for this dance?" asked Mercury.

"There is, yes," said Valentino. He then turned to Waldo and said, "Waldo, can you show Murphy the plants we wear for the dance please?"

"Sure," said Waldo.

"It's Mercury," snapped Mercury with an irritated frown. He then huffed and followed Waldo. Then Rosalind prepared to fly off to prepare to dance.

"You know something, the last time I had ever heard of the tribe's song was when I was a chick," said Sapphire, "But I had only learned to fly back then."

"Well, you'll be able to dance with us for the first time," said Rosalind as she flew off, "And I'm sure your three daughters would love to join."

At this, Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine jumped up and down excitedly. Then suddenly, the air in the Lear's macaws' ravine was filled with whistling, the introduction of the song. Alejandro was alerted by the music.

"Oh, we'd better get ready," he said, "The song's starting up."

And with that he flew away to look for some plants. Valentino, Jasmine, Annette and Phoebe also flew off, leaving only Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa standing on the ledge.

"Well, looks like the show's going to be as good as the Spix macaws' dance," said Travis.

"Absolutely," said Sunset.

"But what about the glaucous macaws?" asked Rosa, "Are we going to help find them too?"

At this, Travis slapped a wing on his forehead.

"Man, I almost forgot about that," said the sulfur-crested cockatoo, "Thanks for reminding me, Rosa." He then looked into the ravine space and said, "But first, let's watch the Lear's macaws dance. I can't wait to see Mercury in the air."

Then the cockatoo family turned and watched the air as it began to fill up with navy blue birds. The whistling songs were played by some of the Lear's macaw tribe members blowing into some hollow sticks. They appeared to have carved holes into the hollow tubes so that they would be used as flutes. Near them, some other macaws were playing makeshift drums. These drums were made from hollowed out tree stumps and fruit shells with flat leaves stretched over the opening so that when struck, they made a percussive sound. While these instrument playing macaws blew into the stick-flutes and beating on the drums, in the air, Lear's macaws were forming patterns. Like the Spix macaws, they wore a special paint for their dance but instead of just flower and fruit paint like the Spix macaws, the Lear's macaws also wore interwoven flowers of bright colours. The males wore yellow fruit paint on their faces and had flower chains around their necks like necklaces while the females wore flower chains also around their necks in addition to one on their heads. However, they did not wear facial makeup. These flower decorations were constantly replaced and since there were flowers aplenty in the Lear's macaws' home, the Lear's macaws did not worry about flowers running short.

As the ravine's air filled with dancing Lear's macaws as they sung the first lines, Waldo gave Mercury some yellow fruit and a string of interwoven flowers.

"Here," he said, "For the dance, we males wear this yellow fruit paint on our faces and these necklaces around our necks."

"Do the females wear fruit paint too?" asked Mercury, "I know the female Spix macaws wear yellow pollen."

"No they don't," said Waldo, "Only flower necklaces and one on their heads. Hurry, the song's starting."

And with that, he flew off and landed about a metre away to paint his face. Mercury shrugged and then painted his face yellow with the fruit paint before putting the ring of flowers over his head like a necklace. Elsewhere, Valentino, Alejandro and Archie also decorated their faces with more yellow fruit paint and put a necklace of flowers each on while Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, together with some other female macaws including Flora put on flower necklaces each and a flower on their heads as well. Phoebe chose a light blue flower while Annette chose a yellow flower and Jasmine chose a pink flower. Then as soon as they were ready, the Lear's macaws all took off as the tribe erupted into song. As the tribe members sung the first chorus, four lines of Lear's macaws spiralled upward through a large ring formed by some more Lear's macaws and emerging from the helical spiral, Sapphire emerged and began dancing aerially. Other Lear's macaws including Waldo joined in and together, the group did elaborate areal acrobats in sync.

"Mercury, where are you?" asked Sapphire as she looked around. Mercury, who was hovering just outside the wide ring of dancing Lear's macaws, looked around for Sapphire.

"Sapphire?" he called, "Sapphire?"

He then turned and saw her in the inner ring of Lear's macaws and flew straight over to her. As he attempted to enter the ring, he got whacked by two navy blue wings. Recovering, he managed to enter the ring and tried to mimic the dance moves of the other macaws. However, like how Venus was to 'Beautiful Creatures', Mercury was new to 'Elegant Navy Birds in the Glorious Jungle', and his first attempts were rather clumsy and out of sync. However, the part of the song came where the Lear's macaws were supposed to find a partner to dance in an arranged pattern. As Mercury continued struggled to try and mimic the moves of the other macaws, a navy wing appeared grabbed his wing and pulled him. At first, Mercury gasped but was relieved to see it was Sapphire. He smiled as he gazed into her sapphire blue eyes and began to dance with her. Around the couple, other Lear's macaw couples were also dancing in arranged patterns. The outer ring now had macaw couples dancing in a ring around the inner macaws. While the macaws danced and the instrument players continued playing their instruments, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo watched from a tree.

"Their dance is quite different from the Spix macaws' 'Beautiful Creatures' then," said Sunset as she awed the elegant dance moves of the Lear's tribe members. Eustace, Rosa and Milo just sat by their parents' sides, not wanting to join in with the Lear's macaws after what happened last time with their attempt to join the Spix macaws during their dance. They were especially embarrassed that Travis and Sunset still tittered about it whenever they talked about their humiliatingly futile attempts to mimic the Spix macaws' moves. As Sunset listened to the beat and lyrics, she realised that the theme of the song was about the Lear's macaws themselves and their love of the jungle and the wild similar to how the Spix tribe's theme song, 'Beautiful Creatures' was about the Spix macaws and their freedom in the jungle. The song also celebrated the Lear's macaws' thriving in the Amazon jungle and their love of colour.

"Look at Mercury," said Travis. At this, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa followed Travis's pointed wing and saw Mercury as he danced with Sapphire. Mercury was a very agile macaw and while he was capable of flying very fast and agilely through a cluttered environment, he was also able to pull off a complicated sequence of moves in quick succession. He did just that with Sapphire and moved in perfect sync with her.

"Sapphire taught him how to dance like that before our New Year's Eve party back in Rio," said Sunset with a smile.

"He's just as good as Venus," said Travis. Then four rows of Lear's macaws began to descend towards the stream below. Unlike the spinning and descending the Spix macaws made, the Lear's macaw rows spiralled around each other as they flew towards the ravine floor and the stream. The two helices formed by the four rows of Lear's macaws resembled a DNA backbone. In the air, the remaining Lear's macaws continued to dance in concentric rings as those flying in the helical row patterns, after flying close to the stream's surface, flew back up again, but in straight rows. Next, the Lear's macaws began to perform the most complicated and co-ordinated dance sequence Travis and his family had ever seen. In fact, the pattern reminded the cockatoos of a human thing called a kaleidoscope. Using co-ordination and synchronised movement, the Lear's macaws spun around each other in toward and out of the concentric rings. This dance sequence required the macaws to spin with some other macaws while proceeding in towards the circle's centre before making their way back out again. From the flock of navy blue birds, Travis picked out Mercury. He appeared to be struggling with this sequence but he did manage to somewhat dance in sync with the other macaws. Then after the kaleidoscope pattern, the macaws arranged themselves in simpler concentric rings and continued dancing. In the middle, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were dancing together while the other macaws danced in concentric rings expanding outward. This dance sequence was similar to the Spix macaws' 'Beautiful Creatures' but the macaws rotated the rings. The outermost ring rotated in one direction while the next outermost ring rotated the opposite direction. This pattern repeated until it reached the centre. The macaws in the rings also pulled off complicated moves while singing to the song. Then after the macaws had reached the end of the song, they suddenly exploded outward like a supernova of navy blue birds and Travis, Sunset and their chicks saw flowers rain down from the talons of the female macaws, followed by cheering. Within moments, it was all over.

At this moment in time, in the green macaws' territory, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon had also just finished dancing to the green macaw tribe's theme dance, 'We Are Green Macaws Living in the Green Jungle'. The green macaw tribe was led by Alonso and his mate Verde and like the red macaw tribe which consisted of two very similar species of macaw (scarlet and green-winged), the green macaw tribe consisted of two very similar species of green macaws, military and great green. Military macaws were smaller than the great green macaws but other than the difference in size, the two macaws looked very similar and both had green feathers, yellow wing and tail undersides, blue wings, sometimes lower backs, red foreheads, and red and blue tails as well as some white skin around their eyes and faces. For the dance, male great green and military macaws wore orange fruit paint over parts of their faces and wingtips, exactly like how the female Spix macaws wore yellow follower pollen over their faces and wingtips for 'Beautiful Creatures', and the females wore yellow flower pollen on their faces. However, they did not colour their wingtips like the males did. The green tribe's home was a large cluster of trees, some of them tall kapok trees, growing around a large bolder and a stony ledge. A stream ran through the green tribe's habitat and there were dozens and dozens of flower patches scattered around the habitat. When Esmeralda and her family met the green macaw tribe, Esmeralda had reunited with some of her childhood friends, among them Amelia, Coco and twin brothers Lewin and Luis, four of Esmeralda's closest chick-hood friends. Like how the Lear's macaws had celebrated Sapphire's return and the Spix macaws for Jewel and then Zephyr and Brisa, the green macaws had also celebrated Esmeralda's return. The other macaw tribes and clans had also done the same with the other macaws' return: the Navyfeather Clan with Ultramarine, the Bluewing Clan and the blue-throated macaw for Cobalto, the blue-and-gold macaw tribe for Orquidea, and the red macaw tribe for Ruby and Chiquitita. Both Alonso and Verde were great green macaws like Uranus and his family. Both had stocky builds and Alonso had blue eyes while Verde had dark green eyes. Both macaws also had feather ruffles behind their heads. Verde's was wavy while Alonso had a short sheet of feathers behind his head. Like every other great green and military macaw, both macaws were green, blue, yellow and red. Alonso's blue parts (wing flight feathers and parts of his tail and lower back) were maya blue while Verde's was azure like Esmeralda's though she was not related to her. The rest of their tails and foreheads were red. As Esmeralda and her family flew with Alonso and Verde, still dressed in the tribe dance makeup (Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania and Verde with yellow flower pollen on their faces and Uranus, Oberon and Alonso with orange fruit paint on their wingtips and faces), back to Alonso and Verde's hollow, Alonso was impressed with Uranus who looked a little humiliated and embarrassed.

"You did well for a beginner," he said, "Despite moving out of sync a lot with the other dancers."

"We'll have to teach you our tribe song's dance moves at some point," said Esmeralda.

"Well, at least I tried," said Uranus. The group then landed on the branch leading to Alonso and Verde's hollow and cleaned their faces of the paint.

"Didn't I tell you that Zephyr, Brisa, Orquidea, Chiquitita, Ruby, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Sapphire had returned?" asked Esmeralda with a smile.

"No, you didn't," said Verde, "We were told that Jewel, Eduardo's daughter had returned a few days ago but we hadn't heard any news about the other missing macaws that we thought died in the fire."

"When we heard that our enemies, the Lear's macaws, had lost quite a few members including a female macaw named Sapphire," said Alonso, "I was horrified even though those dark navy blue birds are a menace."

He then looked at Verde with a frown and continued, "I'm thinking about sending some patrols to the Lear's/green border at the camu-camu fruit grove to keep an eye on any Lear's macaws that come near the border to pick some camu-camu fruit and to make sure that they don't get up to mischief."

"I think that's a good idea, dear," said Verde, distaste tinging in her voice, "We don't want any of those navy blue brats frolicking in our patch. They should stay within theirs while we stay in ours."

"Aren't the flying foxes more trouble than those navy blue birds?" asked Esmeralda, hiding the fact that she was now one of Sapphire's friends and to distract the leaders from thoughts about the Lear's macaw tribe a bit. Uranus almost made a face but stifled it. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon also exchanged glances as they thought about Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, and Mercury and Sapphire.

"Well those bats haven't bothered us for the past few years since we made that truce with them to keep our members within our boundaries," said Alonso, "So they're not much of a worry to us at the moment. However, that patriarch of theirs, Cicatriz, is a psycho."

"I have never met those bats before," said Uranus, "What does Cicatriz look like?"

Verde turned to him with a dark look on her face.

"He's a savage piece of work, that furball," she growled in a low voice, bitter hatred in her tone, "Alonso and I had only met him once and believe me, his appearance is hideous."

"He, along with almost every other flying fox in that colony including his equally psychotic mate Iracebeth is covered in scars," said Alonso, "Obtained from viciously fighting birds. Cicatriz is also blind in his right eye, a consequence of his vicious fight with a festive amazon parrot when he was young."

Uranus flinched at the thought of a bat like Cicatriz fighting a parrot coming out blind in his right eye.

"Is fighting birds always a thing with that colony?" he asked.

"They despise us birds and see us as vermin," said Alonso, "It is one of the colony's teachings about us. Why, none of us know but those bats bring up their pups in that teaching and also train them to fight against us."

"It seems quite dangerous for a flying creature whose wings are membranes to fight flying creatures armed with beaks and talons," said Uranus.

"It has happened that colony members have suffered damaged wing membranes which is not uncommon or injury" said Verde darkly, "Anyway, let's just forget those bats and focus on the more important things and that is finding you a tree to live in and training you, Uranus."

"And also sending some patrols to the camu-camu fruit grove to keep an eye on any Lear's macaws that go there to pick the fruit and make sure they are not causing trouble which I'm going to do first," said Alonso and with that, he flew off to set up some patrol groups. Uranus looked on as he left.

"Those Lear's macaws surely mean no harm when they come to the camu-camu fruit grove, right?" he asked, "They're only going there to pick fruit."

"That camu-camu fruit grove is the only grove of camu-camu fruits we have in our territories," explained Verde, "There are other camu-camu fruit bushes but they're deep within the territories of the other macaw tribes and clans and we don't want to steal from them. And because we have a territorial and foraging dispute with the Lear's macaws, we have set up a territorial truce due to a shortage of camu-camu fruits. We will not tolerate Lear's macaws on our side of the grove while they won't tolerate us on their side."

"It's just like the red macaws' conflict with the Spix macaws over the Brazil nut grove," said Uranus.

"They have made peace now after the fight against the loggers," said Esmeralda. Verde made a surprised look.

"The reds and the Spix's have made peace?" she said surprised, "But… those two tribes have been in conflict for years since the Spix macaws moved into that ravine."

"Not anymore," said Uranus, "We've been told that the red tribe had participated in the battle against the loggers with the Spix and had become friends."

"The Spix and red macaws' territories, together with those of the blue-and-gold tribe and the two hyacinth macaw clans and the Bluewings' co-inhabitants, the blue-throated macaw clan are now included in part of the sanctuary set up by some humans," said Esmeralda.

"What, Eduardo, Felipe, Soleado and those four clan leaders have allowed humans to set up their homes as a protected reserve!?" snapped Verde incredulously.

"It's true, Verde," said Uranus, his wings around Miranda and Oberon and Titania, Ariel and Umbriel flanking him, "Eduardo's tribe is extremely rare and possibly the only flock of their species in the whole world. Reynaldo's clan of blue-throated macaws are also quite rare."

"The purpose is to protect the habitats of those macaws and other inhabitants from the devastation of logging and poaching," said Esmeralda, "Logging especially since it destroys the habitat of a lot of animals."

"And what I hope now is that the green macaws' territory and the territory of the Lear's macaws are…" began Uranus but Verde cut him off.

"Not a chance," snapped the green tribe matriarch, "We don't trust humans at all. They're nothing but destructive pests."

She turned to Uranus and said, "You just get prepared for training with Alonso while you," she turned to Esmeralda, "Get prepared to find a tree for you and your mate and five chicks to live in. I don't wanna hear any more about humans, understood?"

And with that, Verde entered her and Alonso's hollow to check a clutch of eggs she had just recently laid. Besides finding Uranus and his family a tree of their own to live in, Verde had recently laid a clutch of two eggs and wanted to make sure that they did not go too cold. Uranus and Esmeralda looked at each other.

"Did you know that we're the only flock in Brazil to have great green macaws?" she asked.

"No, why?" asked Uranus.

"Great green macaws alone are only known to live in Central America," said Esmeralda, "And the military macaw is predominantly found on the far west of northern parts of South America, so it's important that our tribe and the Lear's macaws are included in the sanctuary because we are vulnerable to logging. Even though the Spix and red macaws and some of the other animals had driven the loggers away, that would not stop them from trying to take trees from our habitat."

"It's going to be difficult to convince Verde and Alonso about that," murmured Uranus, "And I think Mercury and Sapphire will also be struggling to convince the Lear's macaw tribe leaders the same thing."

"Not to mention the enmity the greens have with the Lear's," said Esmeralda with a concerned look on her face. She then made a sombre and doubtful look when a thought about Mercury and Sapphire came into her head. "It's not going to be easy for us, I can tell you."

Uranus sighed.

Back in the Lear's macaws' territory, the Lear's macaw tribe had returned to its usual activities. It was now lunch time and Lear's macaw parents were out foraging for food to bring back to their mates and chicks waiting in their nests. Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were eating some mango fruit with Sunset, Travis, Eustace, Rosa and Milo. Mercury had picked some mango fruit from one of the mango trees residing in the Lear's tribe's ravine. Valentino and Rosalind, meanwhile, were setting up patrol groups to send out and keep an eye on the group of human intruders still walking around in their habitat. Mercury, while eating a mango, raised his head and looked in the Lear's tribe leaders' direction when he heard Valentino say, "Make sure that you keep a close eye on those human intruders and report back to me everything you observe, including their plans and where they go. Understood?"

The patrollers nodded and then Valentino began to send them away a few at a time.

"I wonder how Esmeralda, Uranus and their five chicks are doing in the green tribe's home," he said in a low voice to Sapphire, "I just hope that when those humans find more proof of this flock's existence and include it in Tulio and Linda's sanctuary, they'll do the same for the green macaws'."

"The green tribe is vulnerable to habitat loss to loggers and poaching intrusions, though," said Sapphire as she ate another piece of mango. Suddenly, Phoebe and Jasmine began to bicker over another piece of mango.

"That's MY piece, sis," shouted Phoebe, pulling the piece out of Jasmine's wings.

"No, it's mine!" snapped Jasmine and pulled the mango piece back out of Phoebe's wings. Then the two began to squabble and continue to pull the mango piece out of each other's wings. At this, Sapphire turned and began to break up the quarrel.

"Girls, girls!" she shouted, before going to the two sisters and snatching the mango piece out of their wings. "We shall have no fighting over food, alright?"

As she held the mango piece, Phoebe and Jasmine looked up at her. Annette just sat nearby quietly, eating her piece of mango. Then after Phoebe and Jasmine had calmed down, Sapphire then divided the mango piece the two sisters fought over by biting through it with her beak and then handed each half to Phoebe and Jasmine.

"There," said Sapphire firmly as the two sisters began to eat the two separate pieces, "At least this will stop you both quarrelling."

Phoebe and Jasmine continued eating the two pieces and from here on to the end of lunch, there was no more quarrelling. Sunset rolled her eyes.

"Before our three hybrid chicks learned to fly," she said, "They often squabbled over food and toys. It took us a lot of effort and patience to break up any quarrels our chicks had."

Mercury and Sapphire turned and saw Eustace, Milo and Rosa eat their mango pieces without too much arguing.

"And plenty of discipline," added Travis as he threw away the mango core, "But since our chicks had learned to fly; they had learned to share their food without quarrelling with each other."

"I wonder how Saturn, Orquidea, Zephyr and Venus had to manage with their enormous broods whenever a quarrel would break out amongst their kids," said Mercury.

"Brisa would have probably helped out with Zephyr and Venus," said Sapphire, "While Saturn and Orquidea had Neptune and Ultramarine's assistance since the hyacinth macaw couple only had two chicks."

"But we seemed to have managed quite well with our three daughters," said Mercury, "And so have Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Ceres and Pluto with their respective mates Chiquitita, Ruby, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli with their chicks as their broods weren't as big."

"Oh, that reminds me," said Travis, "We've…"

Before he could finish, Valentino returned to the group. He had finished sending out the patrol groups.

"Right, that's the patrol group organising task finished," he said, "Now for the next task."

He turned to Mercury and asked, "Have you finished your lunch, Merlin?"

"Yes, I have," said Mercury as he swallowed the last piece of the mango and threw away the cores. At this, he shot Valentino an irritated glare when he realised that the patriarch had got his name wrong again.

"It's Mercury," he said.

"Whatever your name is," said Valentino much to Mercury's irritated eye-roll. "Anyway, it's time for your training. We'll start on the sessions requiring less strenuous exercise since it is not recommended to perform strenuous tasks like flight agility after you've eaten."

"What am I going to learn about first?" asked Mercury.

"I'm going to give you the tour of our territory first and what groves we have," said Valentino, "And then we're going to work on trap escape as our first session once your meal has settled."

"Sounds good," said Mercury excitedly. Then Travis scooped away the leftovers from the mango meal from Eustace, Rosa and Milo after they had eaten their fill and tossed them away. Sunset continued eating her last piece of mango.

"And as for us," said Travis after he brushed his wings of the mango juice, "We're going to explore the place."

"Well if you're going to do that, Trevor, make sure you watch out for any predatory birds that may be flying around," said Valentino, "And also watch that you don't stray too near the Lear's/green boundary. It is to the north of here."

"Okay, we'll try," said Travis. However, deep down he knew he had to visit the green tribe at some point because of Uranus and his family but due to the Lear's macaws' attitude towards the green macaws; he didn't want to unintentionally stir up trouble. Then after Sunset had finished her final piece of mango and had thrown the core away, Travis clapped his wings together.

"Right, kids," he said to Eustace, Milo and Rosa, "Are we ready?"

"Yeah," shouted Eustace, Rosa and Milo simultaneously.

"When you are, dear," said Sunset. Then Travis prepared to take off.

"Right, let's go," he said, "And remember kids, stick by our sides at all times and _don't wander off!"_

"Exactly, children," added Sunset, "The last thing we want is searching for you in this infinite maze."

And with that, the five cockatoos took off.

"Have fun, Travis and Sunset, cockatoo kids," shouted Sapphire.

"And make sure you keep away from the group of intruding humans as well," shouted Valentino as the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Major Mitchell's cockatoo and their three hybrid chicks disappeared out of sight and flew out of earshot. Then Mercury stepped forward.

"Right, I'm ready, Valentino," he said.

"Good, follow me, please," said Valentino. Before he took off, he turned to Sapphire and the three sisters.

"Wait here for Rosalind, Sapphire," he said, "She'll help you to find a nest."

Sapphire nodded. And with that, Valentino flew off. Mercury gave Sapphire and his daughters a hug before leaving.

"Have fun, dear," said Sapphire with a kiss on his cheek. Then Mercury departed after the patriarch and soon, the two Lear's macaws vanished, and Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were left standing on the ledge waiting for Rosalind to return. Then as soon as Rosalind had done so after sending out the last patrol group, she smiled to Sapphire and her daughters.

"Right, are we ready, Sapphire?" she asked.

"We are," said Sapphire as Phoebe, Annette and Jasmine jumped up and down excitedly on the spot.

"Good, now let's look for a hole for you to move in," said Rosalind and with that, she flew off with Sapphire and her daughters in tow.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- Travis and his family's shocking surprise**

Meanwhile, back in the Spix macaws' habitat, Venus had finished her training session with Eduardo and was now taking a break in the Brazil nut grove. With her were Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their chicks Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, Blu, and some friends from the red macaw tribe including Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Zephyr and his family had come to the Brazil nut grove so that they could teach their chicks how to open a Brazil nut. Zephyr had taught Venus how a Brazil nut opened and Venus had picked that skill up. Now both parents were about to teach their chicks how to open a Brazil nut. Zephyr sat with Justin, Charlotte and Matilda while Venus sat with Virgil. Pluto sat nearby while Blu browsed a cluster of Brazil nuts. He had his fanny pack or bum bag on him and had come to the Brazil nut grove to pick a Brazil nut to take back to Jewel. Near Blu, Jupiter had just finished teaching Io and Europa how to open a Brail nut while Ruby looked on proudly as Ganymede and Callisto attempted to open a Brazil nut by themselves.

"You know something, I think Venus is a fast learner," said Lapis Lazuli as she sat with Blueberry and Charon. Flor and Quincy were nearby, admiring some Brazil nut flowers, "When I saw her return to the ravine with Eduardo, I heard how impressed he was with her."

"She's adapted really well to the environment, I can tell you," said Zephyr as he prepared to teach Justin, Charlotte and Matilda how to open a Brazil nut. He had one in a talon. None of the macaws were sat under any Brazil nuts because of the fatal danger should one fall.

"Jupiter and Mars have adapted well to the wild as well," said Ruby as Ganymede and Callisto began to eat their Brazil nuts after opening them.

"Hey, did you know that Brazil nuts are so heavy that they could kill a human if one fell from this height onto their head?" asked Ganymede.

"That's true, son, you mother already mentioned it," said Jupiter as he left Io and Europa to open their Brazil nuts, "It's surprising really that fruit like Brazil nuts could pack a powerful punch from this height."

"It's because they are heavy fruits," said Ruby. Then Jupiter saw Blu take out something from his fanny pack and attempt to use it to snap the stem of one of the Brazil nuts.

"What on earth are you trying to use to break the stem, Blu?" he asked. Blu grunted as he pressed a blade of a human object- a swiss army knife called the 'All-In-One Adventurer's Knife'- onto the Brazil nut's stem.

"This knife, Jupiter," replied Blu as he struggled. Jupiter, at this, rolled his eyes and placed a wing on his forehead while Ruby, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli stifled a giggle. Zephyr and Venus were too engrossed in their Brazil nut lesson with their four kids to notice.

"Don't you realise that we already are equipped with a cutting tool, Blu?" asked Jupiter. At this, Blu stopped attempting to cut the Brazil nut's stem with the knife and looked at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"As a nerd bird, you should know," said Lapis Lazuli as Jupiter walked over to Blu and took hold of another Brazil nut in the cluster with a talon.

"To break the stem of one of these fruits, silly," said the muscular scarlet macaw in his demo of how it's done to Blu, "You have to bite it with your beak. That's the cutting tool I was on about."

Blu, at this, dropped the Brazil nut and packed away his Adventurer's knife's blade into its handle. Jupiter then held up the Brazil nut and clamped his beak onto the stem. After he bit with all his might, a snap was heard and the Brazil nut was separated from its only connection to its parent tree.

"And presto," said Jupiter as he held the now free Brazil nut in his talon. "Simple. Now let's see you use your beak on one."

Ruby looked on from the background as Blu showed a bit of reluctance. Finally, he relented.

"Okay, so what do I have to do?" he asked.

"Hold a Brazil nut in a talon," said Jupiter. Blu held up a Brazil nut but with his wings.

"No, no, with a talon," said Jupiter. He passed his cut Brazil nut to Ruby to hold and then walked over to Blu who released the Brazil nut from his wings and tried picking one up with a talon.

"That's it, now clamp your beak onto the stem," said Jupiter, "Not too close to the nut because obviously you'll not be able to carry it properly and could risk dropping it…"

Blu did so and leaned forward to clamp his beak onto the stem.

"Now bite HARD," said Jupiter, forcing the last word out of his beak to emphasize the force required to bite through the stem. Blu did so and bit as hard as he could onto the stem. A snap was heard and Blu held up the Brazil nut to the applause of Ruby, Jupiter, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto.

"Well done, Blu," said Jupiter as he continued clapping, "That's how you do it."

"See, no need for that knife thing," said Lapis Lazuli. Blu smiled at this achievement. He could not believe that he had managed to pick a Brazil nut just by the use of his beak.

"Well, that's one Brazil nut for my one and only Jewel then," he said as he packed the Brazil nut into his fanny pack. At this, Zephyr turned round and said, "She's gonna love that. Brazil nuts are her favourite food."

In front of him, Justin, Charlotte, Virgil and Matilda were trying to open their own Brazil nuts. Venus was encouraging Virgil.

"That's it, Virgil, good job," she said. Then she heard Matilda's voice.

"Mom," the Spix macaw squeaked, "I can't open my Brazil nut."

At this, Venus walked over to her youngest daughter as she led the Brazil nut in front of her, green eyes tinted with disappointment.

"You just bite onto the shell, dear," said Venus. Matilda did so but couldn't crack the tough shell of the fruit. At this, she slapped a wing against the fruit and sat on her perch, a sour look on her face.

"I'll never be able to open one, EVER," she snapped. Venus, at this, sat beside Matilda and began to hug her.

"You just have to keep trying, Matilda," she said as she hugged her daughter. Then Ruby came over.

"Yes, it takes practice," she said, "It took me five tries to open my first Brazil nut when I was young."

Behind Ruby, Zephyr looked on at Matilda.

"That's right; you can't expect to get it right first time," he said, "Very few macaws actually manage to open their first Brazil nut on their first try so you're not on your own that you cannot open your first Brazil nut by yourself."

Matilda then sighed and gazed at the unopened Brazil nut, disappointment flooding her eyes.

"Shall I open it for her?" asked Ruby. Before Venus could reply, Io walked in with her half-eaten Brazil nut.

"Would you like to share some of mine, Matilda?" she asked, offering her Brazil nut to Matilda. At first, Matilda hesitated but then she left Venus's wings and began to eat some of the edible interior much to the pleasant smile of the adults.

"That's nice of you, Io," said Venus with a smile.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Ruby as Io and Matilda began to eat together. Jupiter and Zephyr smiled as they looked on as did Blu, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto.

"Would you like a Brazil nut, glaucous macaws?" asked Blu.

"Oh, no thanks," said Pluto, "We glaucous macaws, I don't think, eat Brazil nuts."

"I don't like them anyway but thanks for the offer," said Lapis Lazuli to Blu's smile. Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy also smiled.

"Hey, Venus," said Jupiter, "How do you like your new tree?"

"Oh, it's brilliant, thanks," said Venus, "Tornado and Roberto helped us to choose the tree that suited us greatly and Roberto found this spacious tree with five rooms which was perfect for us."

"We had to be firm with our kids on who got which bedroom," said Zephyr, "But thankfully, they did not quarrel that much. Venus and I have chosen the lowermost room, Justin got the second lower bedroom, and Charlotte chose the next bedroom up while Matilda and Virgil got the other two with Virgil's being the topmost room in the tree."

"Sounds like Roberto is a real help," said Jupiter with a smile. He then asked, "Does he have a mate yet?"

"Not yet, but he's considering it," said Zephyr, "Though not all macaws plan on finding mates and having chicks. Roxie, our score-marker, chose to be celibate because she finds kids at times hard to handle."

The group broke into a brief period of murmuring until Blu finally decided it was time for him to leave.

"Well, I'd better go," he said, "Jewel and my three kids will be waiting for me so I'll see you lot later."

And with that, he took off in the direction of the Spix macaws' ravine.

"See you, Blu," said the group but Blu was already out of earshot.

"You know, I'm surprised that Blu has had a slow start in learning how to adapt to the wild," said Venus, "I mean, I have done well in Eduardo's training, Jupiter and Mars have done well in Felipe's training…"

"I agree," said Pluto. He then moved onto something else.

"You know something, I think it's about time we searched for more glaucous macaws," he said. "But the question is where do we start?"

"We don't want to risk starting anywhere that could be in dangerous territory like those vicious bats," Lapis Lazuli said, shuddering as she mentioned the flying foxes. "Where do those bats live, anyway?"

"The flying fox colony's territory is just adjacent to the border dividing some free space from the Bluewing Clan and the blue-throated macaw clan's territory," said Ruby, "Felipe told us that that part of the forest used to belong to a bird clan but the flying foxes have brutally driven out those birds and taken over their habitat."

"Your leader doesn't mind if we start looking in your territory, does he?" asked Pluto.

"You won't find any glaucous macaws living in our patch or our neighbours, Pluto," said Ruby sadly, "For all we know those glaucous macaws could be extinct."

This was met by a disappointed sigh from Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli then looked at her four kids.

"I don't know what our children are going to do when they grow up," she said, as Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy looked up at her, "If there aren't other glaucous macaws around…"

"Could we be the last of our species after all?" asked Charon.

"I don't wanna grow up alone," moaned Blueberry.

"We don't wanna be the only glaucous macaws alive," muttered Quincy.

"What are we gonna do, Mom?" asked Flor.

"I don't know, you four," replied Lapis Lazuli sadly. Then Jupiter stepped in.

"Well, remember back in Rio when one of the ornithologist groups claimed to have discovered a glaucous macaw out here and had taken a picture of it?" he asked, "Then that means there is a possibility that there is a few glaucous macaws out here. We just need to find them."

"That is true," said Lapis Lazuli, "It's a matter of where they could be."

"Well, if we do find them," said Zephyr, "Those birds are going to need protection from logging and poaching since they will be as valuable as the Spix macaws."

"Don't give up hope," said Venus, "We'll find them eventually."

Lapis Lazuli and Pluto sighed, uplifted by this encouragement.

Back in the Lear's macaws' territory, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa continued flying through the habitat of the Lear's macaw tribe. Around them, several navy blue birds with yellow-orange and dark greenish tinged faces and chests dotted the trees, talking and eating. Travis looked around.

"Tulio and Linda are going to be thrilled to hear about this," he said, "But only if they'll change their view that not all humans are bad…"

"I wonder if the Spix macaws shared that view," said Sunset, "Before Blu and his family found them and before they battled against the loggers."

"It seemed like it," said Travis, "But in order for a flock of ultra-rare and critically endangered birds to be protected from the destruction caused by logging, their presence needs to be made known to Tulio's team so that they could set up their habitat as a protected reserve."

The cockatoo family continued flying through the Lear's macaws' territory until they stopped in a tree to rest. They were in what appeared to be in a fruit grove for the trees around here were a mix of a few coconut trees and quite a few pineapple trees.

"Well, those Lear's macaws certainly do have a diversity of fruit trees," said Travis as he looked around, "Not to mention so many colourful flowers. Some of their trees are absolutely covered in them."

Sunset then looked at one pineapple tree and saw that it was covered with a lot of flowers of various species and colours. It appeared that the Lear's macaws loved colour and anything exotic as their ravine had dozens and dozens of brightly coloured flowers like orchids and bromeliads. Travis then looked around and saw that the cockatoos appeared to be in a grove, specifically a papaya tree grove. A group of teal faced navy blue birds then flew past. Then Eustace began to look around at the flowers when a butterfly flitted past. This butterfly was back and orange and had transparent wings much to the intrigue of Eustace and he began to follow it.

"Right, so how are we going to help Susan and Lucy's group find these macaws without provoking Valentino and Rosalind to anger?" asked Sunset.

"Well, I suppose we could retrieve a few of their feathers to our human friends, Mom," said Rosa.

"Retrieve feathers for our human friends, sweetheart?" replied Sunset, an appalled look on her face, "No, Rosalind and Valentino would not tolerate that and would probably kick us out of here if we did."

"But Sunset," began Travis.

"Look, Travis, I know the feather thing might seem like a good idea," said Sunset, "But… I want the revelation of this flock of Lear's macaws to be gentle, one without too much force…"

"It's not going to be an easy problem to find the solution to, I can tell you," said Travis. He then glanced briefly at Eustace to make sure that he had not wandered off. To his relief, he was only in another tree chasing the butterfly with the transparent wings.

"Eustace, don't wander off too far, won't you?" called Travis firmly. Eustace looked back and nodded before continuing to chase the butterfly.

"Do you suppose we should leave those graduate bird ecologists to find the Lear's macaws themselves?" asked Travis, "I mean, last time they managed to find a feather and Lucy managed to capture a picture of one despite it coming out blurry…"

While Travis was discussing possible ideas on how the Lear's macaw tribe's existence could be revealed to the bird ecologists, Eustace continued chasing the butterfly as it continued flitting about. It then landed on an orchid where it gently opened and closed its wings. Eustace then pushed his beak up close to one side of the butterfly to peer through the transparent part of its wings. He smiled with intrigue when he saw right through the patch.

"This reminds me of how some fish are transparent," he whispered to himself in fascination. As he continued looking through the butterfly's transparent patches, he saw a form on the other side of the butterfly's wings. It was a grey smudge with two white patches surrounded by a ring of yellow and a darker grey patch below the white and yellow patches. At this, Eustace frowned as the butterfly suddenly darted off from the orchid. Then Eustace looked properly at the form and thought he was seeing things. The form standing before him appeared to be a baby bird and based on its features, Eustace recognised it as a macaw.

"Charon?" he murmured. However, the macaw chick tipped its head to one side in confusion. Then Eustace remembered: Charon, together with Blueberry, Flor and Quincy were back in the Spix macaws' territory with their parents Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. Furthermore, this macaw chick had bright green eyes. The green eye colour was absent in Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's chicks though Flor's eyes were a shade of cyan, sort of a bluey green colour but this chick's eyes were green, more like those of Carla, one of Blu and Jewel's daughters. The chick's head and neck were grey and a thin strip of yellow enclosed each of the chick's eyes. The chick also had some more yellow skin behind its lower beak mandible. The rest of its body was a soft turquoise with a green tint, similar to Pluto. A small flick of grey feathers stuck out behind the chick's head and the chick appeared slender with an s-curvature to its build, like that of Bia, Blu and Jewel's other daughter. This was definitely not Charon for his body feathers were dark turquoise, his eyes were a shade of sandy brown. Also, based on the chick's facial features, it appeared to be female and not male. Eustace, at first, was lost for words and his banded crest with varying shades of yellow was stood up in shock. Could this be another glaucous macaw? It definitely had the same features as Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy. Then Eustace finally found some words to say.

"Er… hi," he squeaked with a wing raised in a wave. The chick, however, did not reply and continued to stand there, curiosity and confusion swamping her green eyes. Eustace then tried again.

"Um… my name is Eustace," he said, "I-I-I'm a cockatoo. What's your name and what species of macaw are you?"

The chick still did not reply and continued gazing back at him. Eustace then began to lose patience.

"I said, 'what's your name'?" he repeated, a little more impatiently. Still the chick remained silent. Then a squawk was heard, making Eustace and the chick jump. The squawk was followed by a shaking of a branch and some footsteps. Eustace looked around timidly, thinking that it was either Sunset or Travis when suddenly, he saw a larger bird emerge from behind a cluster of leaves and walk up to the chick.

"There you are, Cristal," said the macaw in a female voice, "What have we told you about wandering off?"

Eustace gazed at the newcomer. It appeared to be an adult macaw and based on its voice pitch, a female. Like the chick her head and neck were entirely grey and it had a dark grey beak and dark grey talons. Yellow eye rings surrounded each of her eyes and she had a yellow beak lappet behind her lower beak mandible. The rest of her body was a dark teal-tinted turquoise and she had a flick of grey feathers behind her head, and blue eyes. She also had a slender build. Eustace examined the adult macaw closely, eyes wide and crest raised in awe. This macaw was definitely not Lapis Lazuli. Her body plumage is too light with too much green tint to be Lapis Lazuli, whose plumage was purely blue like that of Blu, Zephyr and Roberto but darker. The chick, whom Eustace assumed was called Cristal, looked up at the female macaw.

"Sorry, Mommy but I found this strange looking bird gazing at a butterfly," she squeaked. At this, the macaw glared at Eustace, who backed away as her gaze bore into him. Then around a few more macaws, around a dozen of them all with black to dark grey beaks and feet yellow eye rings and beak lappets, grey heads and turquoise coloured bodies appeared and perched in another tree. One of them looked impatient.

"Beatrice, come on," shouted the impatient macaw, "Let's go before anyone sees us."

The adult female macaw, at this, told the female chick to come with her. The female chick, at this, looked back at Eustace, hesitant to leave him.

"Cristal, come on," growled the female macaw impatiently, "Leave that weird parakeet alone and come with me."

The chick obeyed and followed the adult to the other macaws in the tree. It was then that Eustace heard four pairs of wings, two large and two small, flapping behind him alongside Sunset's voice.

"Eustace," shouted the voice, making Eustace jump and whip round in alarm, various yellow shaded banded crest raised. To his relief, it were only Sunset, Travis, Milo and Rosa. The four perched beside him and hugged him.

"We thought you had wandered away," said Travis as he, Sunset, Milo and Rosa broke the hug with Eustace. Eustace then became excited and alarmed.

"Mom, Dad, LOOOOOOK," he shouted, pointing a wing in the direction of the mysterious birds. At this, Sunset and Travis followed his point and gazed at whatever he was pointing to. Rosa and Milo did the same. Sure enough, the other four cockatoos saw a small group of grey-headed birds with soft teal-tinted turquoise bodies, wings and tails, yellow facial markings like those of hyacinth macaws and dark grey beaks and feet as they left the tree. Travis and Sunset's jaws dropped open in flabbergast.

"Could they be…" began Sunset.

"GOOD GRIEF, THEY ARE GLAUCOUS MACAWS!" Travis blurted out. Eustace was trembling with excitement. He was bubbling with enthusiasm so much that he could not keep control of the flow of his words from his beak.

"I-I-I was gazing through that butterfly's transparent wings when I saw that chick," he talked very quickly, "And it looked just like Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy. At first I thought it was one of those four but when I saw its green eyes, I knew it was not one of them…"

Travis and Sunset were too engrossed with gazing after the small flock of macaws as they disappeared through the trees to even hear their older son's speedy talk. Rosa and Milo, however, blinked in confusion as Eustace continued to pour out speedy words like a torrent of water.

"I don't believe it," said Sunset, her red, yellow and pink-white crest fully raised, "We MUST fly back to the Spix macaw tribe and tell Pluto and his family this. They've GOT to hear about it."

"Then let's head off back to the Spix macaws' ravine," said Travis, "And quick."

"Come on, kids," said Sunset enthusiastically. Eustace, Rosa and Milo obeyed and with that, the family of cockatoos quickly left the tree and rocketed off in the direction of the Lear's macaws' ravine where they will fly off in the direction of the Spix macaws' territory.

"I knew there could be some glaucous macaws here," shouted Travis as the five flew as fast as they could, Sunset carrying Rosa, Milo and Eustace in her talons for they were too young to fly as fast as their parents. "I just knew it. That picture taken by that human called Jeremy, his group's sighting of one…"

"Let's hope we could alert our human friends of their existence too," shouted Sunset, "But let's find Pluto and his family first. They're gonna be utterly flabbergasted when they hear about this."

Then the two cockatoos shot off into the distance through the trees, their kids in their talons.

Later, Mercury was back to the Lear's macaw ravine, having finished his first session of training with Valentino. As the two landed on the ledge to Valentino and Rosalind's hollow, Valentino was impressed at Mercury's progress.

"I can't believe at how well you've performed in my training lessons, Marcy," he said, "You immediately knew how to escape from being tangled up in vines, how to use your beak and talons to eat fruit and as weapons for self-defence…"

Mercury smiled and was about to reply where he had learned these basic skills but after hearing what Valentino was like with humans, he immediately stopped himself from telling Valentino about his past as a pet. Instead, he told Valentino half of the truth.

"Some old bird friends of mine taught me how to forage for food and to get out of traps," he said.

"Well, that's good," said Valentino, "But let's call it a day for now. You're tired and you need some rest. We'll continue with the rest of the training later. Part two's session will be how to use the environment's resources to build a camouflage suit, like mud and leaves, and an intro to our camu-camu fruit grove."

"Camu-camu fruit?" repeated Mercury. He smiled at the idea of rolling in mud, however, remembering doing just that when he was under the care of Susan, Lucy, Blake Drake and Jake back in London and he had used mud to coat his plumage to camouflage himself from his friends during a game of hide-and-seek. Susan and Lucy probably had not been impressed with him rolling around in something messy but Mercury loved camouflaging himself in mud.

"Yes, camu-camu fruit," said Valentino, "It's an important part of our diet that contains important nutrients. No other fruit in our territory can replace that fruit very well in our diet. While there, I'm also going to tell you why it is important that we maintain our side of the camu-camu fruit grove in our possession and why we shouldn't lose it to our sour neighbours, the green macaws."

"Alright," said Mercury.

"But it won't be until later this afternoon," said Valentino, "Now if you don't mind, Rosalind wants me. I can hear her calling, a so you enjoy your break and I'll see you sometime later."

And with that, he flew away to meet Rosalind. Mercury, who was left standing on the ledge, smiled and flew off to find Sapphire. As he flew past the dozens and dozens of holes in the cliff face, some of which were filled with the navy blue and teal forms of many of the Lear's macaw tribe, smiling as chicks played and parents talked, he heard a familiar voice.

"Mercury," called the female voice. Mercury looked around and saw Sapphire wave to him from some of the highest holes in the cliff face. At this, Mercury flew over to Sapphire and landed on the rim of the entrance to the hole. He was greeted with a hug from Sapphire.

"How did it go, dear?" asked Sapphire as she broke the hug with her mate.

"Valentino said I have done very well," said Mercury, "But we're going to resume training after I had had a break."

"That's good," said Sapphire with a smile, "I'm glad to hear you are doing well. Anyway, do you like our new home?"

Mercury then began to look around. As he did so, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette ran around. The interior of the hole was rather spacious. The entrance led to a large room and to one side of the entrance was a smaller hole which served as a window. From the main room a tunnel went deeper into the rock. At the end the tunnel bifurcated and went off into two separate directions. One branch went off to a large room which was to be Mercury and Sapphire's room, while the other branch ended with a split into three more short branches, each ending with a chamber. These chambers served as a room each for Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine. In each of the bedrooms, nests were made for the macaws to sleep in. As Mercury looked around the rooms including the bedrooms, he smiled.

"It's lovely," he said, "I like it."

"It was the best one Rosalind could find," said Sapphire, "It's relatively close to Waldo's hollow. Glad you like it."

"I do," said Mercury, "It suits us well. It also has a good view of the Lear's macaws' ravine."

He then sat down against a wall nearby. Sapphire joined him.

"You know something," Mercury said as Sapphire sat beside him and leaned lovingly on his shoulder, "My parents and siblings would have loved to have moved here. Despite all the doubts some of Rio's bird residents had about the existence of more Lear's macaws, there is a flock of them, right here."

"Our next step is alerting our human friends to the Lear's macaw tribe's existence," said Sapphire, "And when we do, they'll add the Lear's macaws' territory and also the green tribe's to the habitat Tulio and Linda had set up to protect the Spix macaws and their neighbouring tribes and clans. But…"

"But what?" asked Mercury.

"But if only Valentino and Rosalind would listen," said Sapphire, "The trees in our habitat are important to us, especially the fruit trees and if those loggers come along and destroy them, it's going to cause turmoil of food shortage for our tribe and the greens…"

As Sapphire said this, Archie happened to fly by. He looked through the hole and saw Sapphire learning onto Mercury. However, rather than a smile of affection for the couple in their romantic moment, his face was twisted into a frown… a frown with an emotion that was the same colour as the leaves on the trees as he fixated those eyes onto Mercury especially. However, Mercury and Sapphire did not notice. Suddenly, the couple's romantic moment was broken when a commotion was heard outside their new home. Annette looked outside through the smaller hole.

"Mom, Dad," said the young chick, "Mr Travis and Mrs Sunset are in a rush outside."

At this, Mercury and Sapphire got up and walked towards the entrance to their new home to look out. Around them, some Lear's macaws were gazing at two rockets, one white with a yellow crest and the other pink and white with a yellow and red crest, shoot through the air of the Lear's macaws' ravine, stopping only briefly to talk to a few Lear's macaws.

"Excuse me, have you seen Mercury and Sapphire," said the white and yellow comet, Travis to one of the Lear's macaws as they hovered. From the look on his face, he seemed flooded with excitement as was Sunset. Their three chicks in Sunset's talons, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were also filled with excitement. Two of the Lear's macaws, confused over the cockatoos' flood of excitement, pointed a talon each in the direction of Mercury and Sapphire's new hollow and Travis and his family rushed off in said direction. Mercury, Sapphire, Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine stepped out of their hollow just in time to see Travis and Sunset fly so fast towards them. However, Travis flew so fast that he did not have time to slow down and slammed right into the rocky wall just next to Mercury and Sapphire's hollow entrance. Mercury and his family and some other Lear's macaws nearby flinched as they saw the sulfur-crested cockatoo's impact. Sunset, who luckily had all three of her and Travis's chicks in her talons, managed to slow down before she could go careening into the cliff face as Travis slumped down only to be caught by Mercury and Sapphire and hoisted into their hollow. Sunset followed with her three chicks. As Mercury and Sapphire set Travis down on some soft moss, Mercury was a bit annoyed.

"You need to be careful of how fast you fly towards an obstruction such as a cliff face, you dim-witted cockatoo," he muttered as he checked Travis for injuries, "You could have hurt yourself in that crash against the cliff."

Travis, despite the pain he had received from slamming into the cliff face, still maintained his excited smile.

"What was all the rush, anyway?" asked Sapphire as Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette stood around her.

"You are not gonna believe this," said Travis as Mercury continued to check him over, "But I believe we could have seen some other macaws like Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy."

"There was a chick about Blueberry and her three siblings' age," said Eustace as Sunset placed him, Rosa and Milo down, "And she had a grey head, turquoise body and yellow facial features around the eyes and by the beak just like them. However, she had green eyes like Carla and it was based on that feature that I knew she wasn't one of Mr Pluto's chicks. Then an adult came round and I knew she wasn't Mrs Lapis Lazuli based on her plumage colour."

"We've seen a small group of them fly away, Mercury and Sapphire," said Sunset to the two shocked and flabbergasted Lear's macaws, "And based on their features, they're definitely macaws like Pluto and his family."

There was a moment of silence in the room. Then Sapphire broke it.

"Where did you find those glaucous macaws?" she immediately asked.

"In the area where a grove of pineapple and coconut trees grow," replied Travis, "Eustace told us that he was the first to come across two of them."

Mercury and Sapphire popped up.

"Pluto and his family must be alerted right away," said Mercury. But before he could take off, Travis stopped him.

"No, leave this to us," said the sulfur-crested cockatoo, "You just get settled in your new home and let me and Sunset take care of us."

"Would you mind looking after Eustace, Milo and Rosa for us?" asked Sunset, "They cannot fly as fast as us due to their age."

"Okay," said Sapphire.

"Thanks," said Sunset. Turning quickly to her chicks, she said, "You three be good until we get back, okay?"

"Yes, Mom," said Eustace, Rosa and Milo together. And with that, Travis and Sunset kissed each of them on the forehead before turning for the hollow entrance.

"We'll be right back," said Travis and with that, he and Sunset left the hollow and quickly flew away.

"And be careful not to crash into things next time, Travis," shouted Sapphire out of the hollow entrance as the cockatoos left. However, the two were out of earshot. Sapphire sighed and returned inside.

"Pluto and his family are going to be utterly shocked when they hear that news," said Mercury as he looked over the six chicks, three of which were his own.

"I-I-I first saw that little chick while I was admiring a butterfly with transparent wings," explained Eustace, "And I think that chick's name was Cristal. It was definitely not Blueberry, Charon, Flor or Quincy; though I initially thought it were Charon at first."

Mercury then froze upon realisation as these words sank into his head.

"What is it, Mr Mercury?" asked Rosa.

"It's just like Jeremy's sighting of a glaucous macaw and his taking of a picture of it," he said.

"Well, I hope Travis and Sunset manage to alert Pluto and his family and bring them all the way back to the place where they last saw those birds with their chicks in time," said Sapphire. Just then, there was a knock outside the hollow.

"Come in," said Sapphire. With that, a male Lear's macaw with teal eyes walked in through the entrance.

"Waldo," said Sapphire with a smile, "What a nice surprise."

"Oh, I just came in to see if your white popatoo bird friends or whatever species of macaws they are, are alright…" began Waldo.

"Cockatoos," said Mercury.

"When I saw the white one with the yellow crest on its head slam into the cliff face, I was alarmed," said Waldo, "Why was it in such a rush?"

"Oh, Travis?" said Sapphire as she held Eustace, "Oh, just something exciting and urgent that he and his mate wanted to tell us, that's all."

"We saw what appeared to be a small group of glaucous macaws," said Rosa quickly. Waldo, at this, looked back with a quizzical look.

"Glaucous macaw?" he repeated, "But… those macaws are extinct, violently attacked and wiped out by those membrane winged furballs, the flying foxes. Our Spix neighbours told us that."

"Some friends of ours are glaucous macaws," said Mercury, "His name is Pluto and his mate's name is Lapis Lazuli. They have four chicks."

"Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were assumed to be the last pair of glaucous macaws known," said Sapphire, "And they had hoped to find more glaucous macaws like themselves and their four chicks. Travis, our cockatoo friend whom you saw crash into the cliff face, told us he and his family had seen some of those birds in the coconut tree and pineapple tree grove."

Waldo, however, looked unconvinced.

"You're telling a tale that is as tall as a Kapok tree, you two," he said, "I don't believe you."

Mercury and Sapphire sighed at Waldo's refusal to believe Eustace, Milo and Rosa's story.

"Weren't those glaucous macaws your neighbours before those bats attacked them?" asked Mercury.

"No, but they were neighbours of our enemies the green macaws," said Waldo, "But the glaucous macaw tribe had since been decimated by those violent bats four years after the fire ripped through the jungle. It doesn't make any sense to believe that they still are around…"

Waldo then moved on to the next subject.

"Oh, by the way, Marcy," he said to Mercury, getting his name wrong, "Valentino wants to see you."

"Oh does, he?" asked Mercury.

"Yes, the second part of your training," said Waldo. And with that, Mercury stood up and prepared to leave. He kissed Sapphire on the cheek.

"I'll see you soon, dear," he said.

"Have a good time," said Sapphire. Mercury then said goodbye to Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Eustace, Milo and Rosa and left for Valentino's hollow. Waldo then looked at the cockatoo chicks.

"Those chicks are bizarre," he said, "What sort of birds are they?"

"Oh, they're part sulfur-crested cockatoo," explained Sapphire, "That's Travis's species, a white cockatoo with a yellow crest and markings, and they're part Major Mitchell's cockatoo, which is Sunset's species. Major Mitchell cockatoos are white and pink and have a red, yellow and white crest."

Waldo smiled as he examined the banded crests of the chicks, especially Milo and Rosa's.

"You know something," he said, "Hybrid pairings are very rare around here. We have only ever had two. One was a scarlet macaw and blue-and-gold macaw pairing and the other was a green-winged macaw and a blue-and-gold macaw pairing."

Sapphire smiled as she continued playing with her three daughters and Sunset and Travis's chicks.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12- glaucous macaw discovery excitement**

Meanwhile, Travis and Sunset were flying as fast as rockets through the trees. They were basically a pair of comets, Travis a white and yellow and Sunset a white and salmon pink with a streak of yellow and red in her crest. Around the couple, Lear's macaw eyes looked on in surprise, wondering why there were two misfit-coloured comets shooting through their home. Travis and Sunset were flying a few metres high above the trees to avoid crashing into one during their rush. As the couple continued shooting through the Lear's macaws' habitat, Sunset shouted, "Are we back in the Spix macaws' territory yet?"

"Not yet," replied Travis, puffing and panting slowly setting in, "We're still in the Lear's macaws' territory."

The two continued shooting on. Pain was beginning to creep into their wing muscles and Travis and Sunset's bodies were beginning to cry out to their owners that they needed a rest. Breathlessness then soon took hold and Travis and Sunset were breathing rapidly. They were not used to flying so fast over such great distance. That three-day flight from Rio to Manaus was strenuous as it was but the birds had taken their time. However, Travis and Sunset looked as though they were flying a speedy marathon due to them both being fuelled by excitement. By the time they reached the outskirts of the Spix macaws' territory, indicated by the presence of one or two blue birds with blue-white to white facial markings and lack of yellow eye rings and beak lappets, their breathlessness and wing muscle pain reached their limit and the pair was forced to slow down and rest in a tree. Both cockatoos were breathing heavily and rapidly. It then happened that a patrol group from the Spix macaw tribe came by. When they saw the breathless cockatoos, one of them, a familiar male with a mop of head feathers who hovered with a female Travis and Sunset recognised as Brisa, stopped the patrol group and flew over to Travis and Sunset while they continued breathing rapidly.

"Are you both alright?" he asked in his silky voice. At first, Travis and Sunset were unable to speak due to breathlessness. But then after finally getting some control of his breathing rate, Travis spoke.

"Have you seen Pluto and his family, Roberto?" asked Travis as the patrol group, among them Roberto and Brisa, perched around them. Brisa had opted to come on the patrol group with Roberto for she wanted to spend some time with him after missing him for so many years.

"They're in the Spix macaws' ravine," replied Brisa, "Why? Is it urgent?"

The other patrol group members just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Yes it is," said Sunset, "You are not gonna believe this but while we were out exploring the Lear's macaw tribe's habitat, we came across what appeared to be some macaws just like Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks."

This was met by stunned looks.

"You mean there are more glaucous macaws like Pluto and his family?" snapped Brisa in flabbergast.

"B-b-but those macaws have been wiped out by those bats," said one of the patrol groups, a female slender macaw named Roxie and the score-marker for the Spix macaw tribe's Pit of Doom team. "There's no way some of those macaws could have survived that invasion."

"I lost my entire family to those flying featherless pests," growled Roberto, his crest of feathers sticking out a bit. Whenever Roberto got angry, scared or surprised, his crest feathers always stood on end like Travis and Sunset's crests did. Sapphire the Lear's macaw also had this crest feature but hers was less prominent and noticeable due to the length of her head feathers. Then after Travis and Sunset took a minute to get their breath back, they finally spoke without having to pause to enter another episode of breathing rapidly.

"But it's true," said Travis, "We found some macaws like Pluto and his family and it's important that they hear about it."

"Can you find them for us and bring them here?" asked Sunset.

"But we've got a patrol job to do," protested Roxie, "And we're not finished."

Brisa, however, stepped in.

"I'll see to that," she said and with that, she flew away back in the direction of the Spix macaws' ravine. After she had disappeared into the trees, Roberto turned to Travis and Sunset.

"How are Mercury, Sapphire and their daughters doing in their new home?" he asked.

"Oh, they've just settled in to a new hollow by the looks of it," said Travis, "We were surprised that the Lear's macaw tribe have a ravine just like yours."

"Oh yeah, they do," said another Spix macaw, a maya blue male named Peri. Unlike other Spix macaws, his facial markings were yellow rather than blue-white or pure white. He had a twin brother named Martino who was a member of the Spix tribe's Pit of Doom team and the one who choked on Blu's box of breath mints shortly after Blu and company arrived in the jungle.

"It's like our ravine but they have a stream on the bottom rather than a pool and holes along the cliff faces, one side being sandstone," said Roxie. She then frowned and said, "You realise that the Lear's macaws are still on bad terms with the green macaws, don't you?"

"We're aware of that," said Travis.

"Uranus and his family are going to be struggling with that problem too," said Sunset, "I'm glad you Spix macaws had made peace with the red tribe otherwise Venus, Jupiter and Mars and their families would have had problems too."

"We would have forced your scarlet and green-winged macaw friends out into Felipe's territory had they turned up earlier with Blu and his group," said Peri, "Glad your group timed its arrival well."

"I agree," said Sunset, "But too bad about the Lear's and green tribes' problem."

The others nodded in agreement.

Back in the Lear's macaws' territory, Mercury was in the process of the second part of his training with Valentino. He had just learned to use mud and twigs as a camouflage suit and now he was on his way with the Lear's tribe patriarch to the camu-camu fruit grove.

"Now let me tell you some important information about our camu-camu fruit grove, Murphy," said Valentino.

"Mercury," said Mercury irritated.

"Whatever," said Valentino, "Now as you will have been told, or I would have told you, that grove of camu-camu fruit bushes is very important to us but unfortunately, it's right on the boundary dividing our territory from the greens' and thus we share it based on a truce but due to a shortage of those fruits, it is one of the reasons why we have dispute with the green macaws. The camu-camu fruit is an important part of our diet as it contains vital nutrients required for our immune system and the green macaws like to eat those fruits as well. No other fruit can match the camu-camu fruit or supplement the nutrients enough to replace the fruit should we lose our side…"

Mercury listened carefully to the information.

"Now pay atten…" said Valentino as Mercury was distracted by a cluster of flowers dotted with butterflies as the two macaws flew past it.

"Look at me, Murphy," said Valentino, "Pay attention, it's very important. There are two things you must not do at the Lear's/green border while we visit the camu-camu fruit grove."

"Mercury listened as Valentino continued, "One, do NOT cross the boundary into the green macaws' side. Alonso and Verde will not tolerate navy blue feathers on their side just like we wouldn't tolerate green feathers or feathers that are red and blue if from a green macaw's tail on our side."

Mercury nodded in understanding.

"Two," added Valentino, a stern look on his face, "If any green macaws come to the border, don't talk to them. Some of those green brats like taunting and mocking us but generally, we just ignore those brats because they're not worth the hassle. So if we get any green macaws flying near our border, ignore them, okay?"

Mercury nodded as the two continued flying on to the camu-camu fruit grove. Soon, short plants emerged into view and from those plants grew the camu-camu fruits. The bushes were not very big, and they had a sweet smelling aroma emanating from the flowers. There were dozens and dozens and dozens of bushes and the grove was bisected by the green/Lear's boundary. Beyond the camu-camu fruit grove was green macaw territory. The cam-camu fruit themselves resembled small bright red and yellow-green apples and the small flowers were waxy white. Running through the grove was a small stream which fed the plants. This stream defined the Lear's/green boundary.

As the two Lear's macaws perched onto a branch of one of the bushes, Valentino admired the large grove while Mercury browsed a cluster of camu-camu fruits nearby.

"Bia, one of Blu and Jewel's chicks told me that the camu-camu fruit is rich in vitamin C," said Mercury, "And vitamin C is required for a healthy immune system."

"That's very true, Murphy," said Valentino. At this, he turned and shot Mercury a quizzical look.

"Who told you these fruits were rich in vitamin C?" he asked.

"Bia, one of Blu and Jewel's daughters," said Mercury, "She's a very scientific minded Spix macaw chick and loves nature. Her father Blu is the same."

"I've been told that Eduardo's daughter has returned after all these years since the fire," said Valentino, "And I'm glad that she is back with her tribe safe and sound, as well as with a mate and three chicks, two daughters and a son…"

But then his face became stern.

"What is it?" asked Mercury.

"But I'm disappointed that Jewel has paired up with a macaw that had spent his life as a human's pet," said Valentino, "She should have really paired up with another macaw that's spent all his life in the wild rather than one that is a pet…"

"Blu may have been a pet or human's companion…" began Mercury when suddenly, mocking voices sounded from the green macaws' side. At this, the two Lear's macaws looked up and saw three green macaws, two military and one great green, fly in.

"Hi, Valentino boy," scoffed the great green macaw disrespectfully, "What are you doing in the camu-camu fruit grove?"

Valentino, however, kept his cool and ignored the insult and mocking.

"What do you want, Alonso?" asked the Lear's macaw patriarch annoyed. Then one of the military macaws, a female, noticed Mercury.

"What's up with that little Lear's birdie?" she asked condescendingly.

"Is he a newcomer or something?" asked the other military macaw, a male, "I've never seen him before. The Lear's macaw brats we often see are Waldo, Alejandro and Archie and their friends."

Mercury was about to reply when Valentino slapped a wing over his beak.

"Let's just move on, Murphy," he said, "These green idiots are not worth talking to."

And with that, Valentino left with Mercury in tow. Mercury glanced back at the Lear's macaws and continued following the Lear's tribe's patriarch.

"Oi, I haven't finished," shouted Alonso, "You know you Lear's macaws are WAY too close to the boundary. If any of your tribe members ever step over this border, it means a match between us in the Pit of Doom for the whole camu-camu fruit grove."

The female military macaw then blew a contemptuous raspberry at the two Lear's macaws as they disappeared into the trees. Giving up after receiving no answer, Alonso commanded the two military macaws to leave them and the trio moved on. Mercury looked back at the green macaws with a surprised look on his face.

"That was bit of an unexpected surprise from those two military and that Buffon's macaw, Valentino," he said.

"That's the problem, Murphy," said Valentino, Mercury's name wrong yet again, "Those green macaws taunt us or some of my tribe members every time they go to the camu-camu fruit grove. They're an utter nuisance, those green feathered brats. Thankfully they are not as bad as every Amazonian bird's worst nemeses, the flying foxes, and of course those pesky humans and their forest destroying machines. The green macaws just threaten our side of the camu-camu fruit."

"Well that's a relief," said Mercury.

"But as long as we stay out of the green macaws' side of the grove and thus their territory," said Valentino, "Then we should be fine."

"The Spix and red macaws had the same sort of problem with the Brazil nut grove," said Mercury, "They now peacefully share it rather than fight over it…"

Suddenly, Valentino saw a glimpse of something through the trees on the forest floor.

"Get down," he called to Mercury and Mercury did so. Both Lear's macaws dived into a cluster of leaves and then peered out towards the forest floor. What they saw was a group of two legged creatures. Some of them had some sort of carrying things on their backs (called backpacks) while some had flat hard slabs Mercury remembered were called clipboards. Valentino examined the group of humans closely.

"Is it me or is that another group of pesky humans," he asked himself.

"Another group of humans?" repeated Mercury confused. Valentino shot him a glare.

"We already have one pesky group of humans prowling around the forest floor of our territory, Murphy," he growled in a low voice, "But based on the appearance of that group, it seems like they're another group of poachers…"

Mercury then examined the group of humans as they looked around at the environment. He then listened in as some talked.

"Sounds like that group is trying to find evidence of some green macaws," he said.

"They're WHAT?" snapped Valentino. Then Mercury realised what sort of group these humans were.

"They're not poachers, they're bird ecologists," he said.

"What are they?" asked Valentino confused.

"Bird ecologists," said Mercury, repeating his answer, "They study birds in their natural habitat. Looks like this group's trying to find evidence of the green macaws to possibly set up their habitat as a sanctuary…"

"More like to poach," said Valentino scornfully, "Alonso is not going to tolerate those two-legged pests in his patch. Anyway, let's move on."

And with that, he flapped out of the cluster of green leaves with Mercury following.

"You know, when I was a chick," said Mercury, "My parents had dreamed of flying out here to find other Lear's macaws but…"

"But what?" asked Valentino with a sympathetic look on his face.

"We were attacked by smugglers and I lost my entire family," said Mercury. He then felt his tongue stick in his mouth by the glue of reluctance to tell Valentino what had happened next, and that was when he was smuggled to England and purchased as a pet alongside Venus where he spent the next fifteen years of his life as a human's pet, something Valentino might find very distasteful.

"Well at least you managed to develop the essential skills for surviving on your own," said Valentino, "But to hear what had happened to your parents and siblings is very tragic. That's the problem with humans. They destroy the environment and poach us animals. Rosalind's sister was taken by poachers when she was just an adolescent."

"But not all humans are like that with animals and the environment," said Mercury, "Some are trying…"

"There's no such thing as nice humans," said Valentino, sympathy replaced with hatred for humans, "They're all destructive menaces and that's it. Now come with me and let's start on the next training subject: foraging for food."

And with that, Mercury followed the tribe patriarch through more trees. He kept his beak shut about humans, knowing Valentino did not want to talk about them.

At this moment, Travis and Sunset were flying through the Lear's macaws' territory with Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy. Brisa had returned to the Spix macaws' ravine and had told them that Travis and Sunset wanted them and Pluto and his family had left the ravine to meet the two cockatoos. After explaining everything about their sighting of some glaucous macaws, Pluto and his family had become excited and had asked Travis and Sunset to lead them to the spot where they saw the birds. Around the group, Lear's macaws were up to their usual business in the trees.

"Are you sure that those birds had turquoise or blue bodies and grey heads like we do?" asked Pluto.

"Eustace told us that the female chick looked a lot like your chicks, Pluto," replied Travis, "And when we saw them, we saw that that small group of birds looked just like you six."

"Then that means that some of the glaucous macaws will have survived the massacre inflicted upon us by those bats," said Lapis Lazuli, "I can't wait to see those birds."

Lapis Lazuli then looked around at the Lear's macaws.

"Well, I hope that this tribe and the green macaw tribe have their home included in Tulio and Linda's sanctuary when they're found," she said, "This flock of Lear's macaws is invaluable so it is important that their home is protected from logging and poaching."

"Absolutely," said Travis, "And those glaucous macaws too, if we find them."

Then the group flew on to the pineapple and coconut tree grove. Pluto and his family's presence had attracted the surprised attention of some of the Lear's macaws. They had not seen a glaucous macaw since the glaucous macaw tribe had been attacked by those flying foxes and all the macaw tribes and clans had presumed the glaucous macaws to be slaughtered but to see a pair with four chicks flying through their territory was some sight. Soon the group came to the pineapple and coconut tree grove.

"So where did you or one of your chicks see those glaucous macaws last?" asked Pluto as they perched in a tree.

"Probably about… here," said Sunset, trying to remember where she, Travis and their chicks Eustace, Rosa and Milo had stood when they saw the glaucous macaws. "Eustace told us that he was admiring the transparent part of a butterfly's wings here."

Lapis Lazuli walked over to the spot and looked at an orchid. It was the same orchid on which the transparent winged butterfly had rested on when Eustace looked through them.

"They were in that tree and they flew off in that direction," said Travis, indicating to the tree with a pointed wing. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli followed his pointed wing but saw nothing. However, Lapis Lazuli did not give up.

"Well, if you saw those glaucous macaws in that spot," she said, "Then that must mean that they must live… somewhere over there."

She indicated with a point of a wing. She then turned to Travis and Sunset and said, "We'd better find those birds right now."

"Do you want us to come with you?" asked Travis. Then Sunset remembered Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"Oh my goodness, the kids," she gasped, "We'd better head back to pick to the Lear's macaw tribe's ravine and pick them up."

She then looked at Travis and said, "Tell you what, you go with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and help them find the glaucous macaws while I go back to collect our chicks from Sapphire and Mercury's new hollow."

"That's a good idea, Sunset," said Travis, "Therefore one of us would get to keep an eye on Pluto and his family for they are after all extremely rare glaucous macaws and could be at risk of getting caught by poachers."

"Okay, Travis, you take care and look after Pluto and his family," said Sunset and with that, Travis hugged his Major Mitchell's cockatoo mate and kissed her. Then Sunset broke the embrace and flew off in the direction of the Lear's macaws' ravine while Travis, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor left in the direction where the small group of glaucous macaws were seen flying off last.

A while later back in the Lear's macaws' ravine, Sapphire was keeping Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Eustace, Milo and Rosa occupied while Waldo kept a look out for Mercury. Then Waldo heard the fluttering of wings, which made him look up and see Mercury returning to the hollow.

"Marcy's back, Sapphire," said Waldo (getting Mercury's name wrong) moments before Mercury perch onto the rim of the hole and walk in. Sapphire looked up and saw Mercury walk towards her. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette ran towards and gathered around him and Mercury hugged them.

"Hi, Mercury, how did the rest of your training go?" Sapphire asked as she went over to meet him in a hug.

"Oh, just fine," said Mercury as he broke the hug with his mate, "Thanks. But we had a bit of trouble from three green macaws at the camu-camu fruit grove when Valentino took me there to introduce the grove to me. They only mocked us though but we moved on and ignored them."

"Oh yeah, that tribe of Alonso's are a bunch of brats, they are," said Waldo with a stern look on his face, "I often have serious quarrels with those two military macaw twins, Lewin and Luis. I can't stand that pair of military macaw brats at all."

"Are they your rivals or something?" asked Mercury.

"We are especially in the Pit of Doom," said Waldo, "Lewin is the captain of the green macaws' Pit if Doom team while I'm the captain of the Lear's macaws' team. As long as I had been the captain of the team, we have competed against the green macaws once. I bitterly stared Lewin in the face that time but even outside the Pit of Doom games, we're still bitter enemies. Each time I meet Lewin at the green/Lear's border, namely at the camu-camu fruit grove, I always give him a dirty look. Once we got into a fight as chicks at the border but somewhere else."

"Roberto and Felipe used to be bitter enemies too," said Sapphire, "But by the sounds of things, they had become friends."

"Have they?" asked Waldo surprised.

"After the fight against the loggers, the red and Spix tribes made peace," said Sapphire.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you telling me that those two tribes faced off against those two-legged pests and their dangerous machines?" asked Waldo in disbelief. This was met with a nod from Mercury and Sapphire.

"That was a bit risky, don't you think?" asked Waldo with a frown, "I mean, Valentino and Alonso wouldn't endanger their tribe by facing off with those humans and their forest destroying machines…"

Suddenly, there was a flapping noise of another pair of wings at the entrance to the hollow. The three adult Lear's macaws looked up and saw Sunset enter the hollow. The moment she stepped in, Eustace, Rosa and Milo ran over to her excitedly.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy," they cried as Sunset scooped all three up in her wings.

"Back so soon?" asked Mercury.

"Where's Travis?" asked Sapphire.

"He's continuing on with Pluto and his family," replied Sunset as she put her chicks down, "Unfortunately, we both cannot go with them due to our chicks needing one of us present…"

"Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, their chicks and Travis are flying out into unknown territory by themselves!?" blurted out Mercury.

"B-b-but they could run into dangerous predators like a harpy eagle, or a group of poachers," said Sapphire, "Especially Pluto and his family because they are such rare macaws. Once they end up in trouble with poachers, Travis is not going to be able to get all six macaws to safety in time should all be caught in a trap…"

"That's right," said Waldo in agreement, "That's why Valentino does not want to take any chances whenever some of us Lear's macaws come across _any_ group of humans. Some may be examining the plants or something but it's better safe than sorry because those humans could be poachers."

"It's understandable but not all humans are…" began Sunset.

"All humans are harmful, Sally," said Waldo, getting Sunset's name wrong, "We've never encountered at least one caring human at all. And if you said that to Valentino, he will not believe you."

Sunset was about to protest but Waldo gave her a look, making her block off whatever she was going to say. Sapphire then sighed and said, "Well, after Mercury has finished his training with Valentino for today, I'm going to take him out for some lone time together."

"Oh, that'll be great, Sapphire, thanks," said Mercury with a smile.

"Well, while you both are out," said Sunset, "I'll look after your daughters just like how Sapphire looked after our chicks while we were out looking for Pluto and his family. And I'm sure Waldo is willing to help since he is Sapphire's half-brother."

Waldo smiled.

"Yeah, but I hope Travis and that family of glaucous macaws don't run into trouble with any poachers," said Mercury concerned, "Because with Pluto and his family being rare macaws, poachers will not hesitate to shoot them down with a net if they see them."

And with that, he prepared to leave with Sapphire. But first, Mercury said goodbye to Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.

"We'll not be long, girls," he said, "Only for a couple of hours or longer. We're just going to have some lone time together. Look, your Auntie Sunset's there to look after you and you've also got your Uncle Waldo."

At this, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette turned and ran over to Sunset, much to her amusement. Waldo gave a quizzical look and mouthed "Auntie S…?".

"We treat Sunset like a member of our extended family," explained Sapphire when she saw the confused look on her half-brother's face, "She and Travis have been with us when we had Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and when they had their three chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa. They are not biologically related to us, I know but…"

"That's quite interesting," said Waldo, "Especially if they're of another species. Anyway, you enjoy your flight out with Marcy and I'll help Sally there look after your chicks. I am after all, their uncle."

"My name's Sunset," said Sunset, "And his name's Mercury."

Waldo just shrugged as Sapphire and Mercury walked to the hollow entrance before they perched onto the rim and then flew out one by one. Waldo then smiled at the three Lear's macaw sisters and said, "Well, while your mom and dad are out, we'd better find something to do then, girls. What would you like us to do?"

"Can we play a game, Uncle Waldo?" asked Phoebe.

"How about an outing?" asked Jasmine.

"Or insect hunting?" asked Annette, "I know Phoebe loves anything bright and colourful."

"Okay, I'll take you three out on a flight and tour of our ravine then," said Waldo. At this, the girls cheered and got prepared to fly out. Sunset smiled as Waldo turned to her.

"Do you and your three chicks want to come, um, Sunrise or whatever your name is?" asked Waldo.

"Yes, and it's Sunset," said Sunset as Eustace, Rosa and Milo eagerly got prepared for the outing.

"Right, then let's all get prepared for a tour of our ravine," said Waldo with a smile. And with that, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo joined Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and as soon as they were ready, the group left the hollow.

"We'll start with the three waterfalls," said Waldo as he led the group towards the ravine side where the waterfalls fell. Meanwhile, Mercury and Sapphire had left the Lear's macaws' ravine and had flown out into the external territory of the Lear's macaw tribe. However, the couple wasn't aware that they were being followed. As they left the ravine, a bulky Lear's macaw with green eyes and a short ruffle of feathers on the back of his head, followed the couple as they flew past where he was. Archie wore a jealous look on his face and he didn't like Mercury at all.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- discovery of more glaucous macaws and Lapis Lazuli's reunion**

A good while later, Travis, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy continued flying in the direction of where the group of glaucous macaws were last seen. They flew a few metres above the trees and had must have been flying for about half an hour now and the Lear's macaw tribe's territory, and the macaw tribes and clans' spaces included in the sanctuary by Tulio and Linda was quite far behind. Lapis Lazuli was a little concerned at how far behind the sanctuary and the Lear's tribe's territory was.

"Are you sure this is where those glaucous macaws had flown?" she asked Travis who flew at the front.

"I'm sure," said Travis though inside he was doubtful, "We saw those glaucous macaws fly in that particular direction before we left to get you."

"I don't like where we're going," said Pluto timidly, "This could be the territory of another bird tribe and clan."

Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy also looked unnerved. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were also wary of any predator that could be about. One of the most frightening predators Pluto feared the group would run into a harpy eagle, the most dangerous predatory bird known to the animals of the Amazon. Lapis Lazuli had told him that those eagles were much bigger than a hyacinth macaw and had a wingspan twice the length of one. Pluto shuddered at the idea of being faced with one, especially at its lethal weaponry consisting of three inch long talons and a huge hooked beak, designed for killing and tearing up the flesh of prey. As Pluto managed to put off those thoughts, Travis saw something in the distance.

"Wait, I think I can see a few turquoise coloured birds," he said and with that, the group slowed down. Lapis Lazuli followed his gaze and also saw a few blue forms in the distance flying over some trees.

"Those creatures over there look just like Spix macaws," she said, "I thought Eduardo's tribe was the only flock of Spix macaws in the Amazon."

"Let's follow those birds and see what they look like up close," said Pluto, "We can't be certain of what sort of bird they are from this distance. Stay close, kids."

The four glaucous macaw chicks obeyed and with that, the group continued their approach. A while later, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, their chicks and Travis were closer to the forms. Suddenly, more forms exploded from some trees tens of metres from them and flew up into the air. Lapis Lazuli, Travis and Pluto looked at the birds and saw that they were blue coloured. At first, they thought they were Spix macaws but on closer inspection, these birds, had different features to Spix's. They were macaws and like Pluto and his family, they had turquoise coloured bodies. Some appeared to be teal tinted. All the macaws had black beaks, grey heads and necks and Pluto managed to get a glimpse of some yellow facial features on the birds like a hyacinth macaw: yellow eye rings and beak lappets. At this, excitement flooded into him.

"Wait, do you see what I'm seeing?" he said. Lapis Lazuli and Travis followed his gaze and saw the same birds.

"That's it," said Travis, "Those are the same sort of birds we have seen a while ago."

At this, Lapis Lazuli also felt excitement boil within her.

"Brilliant," she shouted, "Looks like we have finally found those glaucous macaws!"

"We're not the last glaucous macaws after all!" put in Pluto. Blueberry, Quincy, Charon and Flor also squeaked in excitement. However, the group was unaware that they were being watched. Amongst some trees, a few shadowy bird-shaped figures watched the six glaucous macaws and sulfur-crested cockatoo as they hovered on the air

"We should alert our human friends to this," said Pluto. Then Travis turned and saw some eyes watching the group from the trees. At this, he became wary.

"Er, guys, I think this isn't the right time to get excited," he said. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their chicks followed his gaze and saw the same eyes looking at them. Lapis Lazuli examined the outline of the eyes' owners and saw that they were macaw shaped. It was then that some grey-headed blue birds with yellow facial markings emerged from those trees and flew towards the group. Travis, Lapis Lazuli, Pluto, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor descended from the sky and perched onto a branch as the macaws continued approaching them. Then soon, the macaws flew towards the same tree and perched around the seven. Then more macaws with grey heads and blue or turquoise bodies appeared until Pluto and his family and Travis were surrounded by dozens and dozens of them. Lapis Lazuli smiled widely as she looked around at the birds. These macaws were clearly like Pluto and his family. They had the same features Pluto and his family had though their body feathers varied in shade of blue and turquoise. Most had turquoise feathers while some had soft teal-tinted turquoise like Pluto. Very few were blue coloured like Lapis Lazuli but they all had grey heads and chests, and yellow eye rings and beak lappets like Pluto and his family. Pluto was amazed to see so many other birds like himself, something he had never seen before. Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy who stood close to their mother and father's bellies with their parents' wings around them, were also amazed at the sight.

"Well, I guess we've found them," said Lapis Lazuli with a smile.

"I agree," said Travis, "These birds look just like you and your mate and chicks, Lapis Lazuli."

As the cockatoo mentioned Lapis Lazuli's name, a few of the macaws gasped.

"Lapis Lazuli!?" shouted one of them, eyes wide in shock, "I-I-I thought she died after those bats had attacked us years ago."

"Yeah, we lost her and Rodrigo during the siege from those flying furballs when they were only adolescents," said another macaw, "Only Rodrigo returned and he told us that she had disappeared."

"Someone get Rudi and Valeria, QUICK!" shouted a third. And with that, a few macaws flew off somewhere. Pluto and Travis raised their eyebrows confused.

"Do these birds know you, Lapis?" asked Pluto.

"Well, surprisingly, they seem to do," said Lapis Lazuli, "But I don't remember much about them."

Then two of the surrounding macaws fluttered down to the same branch and walked towards the group, their shock-filled eyes fixed on Lapis Lazuli.

"I don't believe it," said one of the macaws, a female, "Is it really her?"

"Well, what do you think, Erica?" asked the other macaw, a male, "She has the same dark blue feathers and blue tipped crest that she had when she was a chick and an adolescent."

Lapis Lazuli, however, stood there in silence.

"Let's wait for Rudi and Valeria to turn up, Erica," said the male macaw and with that, the female, whom Pluto assumed was called Erica, did so. Then a while later, the group of macaws that had left had returned. With them were two macaws around Lapis Lazuli's age. They were a male and a female. Like all glaucous macaws, they had grey heads and yellow facial markings. The male had blue feathers like Lapis Lazuli but they were lighter, more like royal blue, and the underside of his tail was tinted grey. His eyes were a shade of violet and he had a very short sheet of feathers behind his head. The feathers were tipped blue and he had a stocky build. The female had a soft teal-tinted turquoise body much like Pluto and some of the other macaws. Her crest was a curly ruffle behind her head and she had brown eyes and a slender build. When the male saw Lapis Lazuli, his eyes widened in utter surprise. However, Lapis Lazuli did not recognise him at first, so she just looked at him in surprise.

"Lapis Lazuli?" asked the male as he approached Lapis Lazuli, "Is that really you?"

"Not possible," murmured the female in a low voice. Lapis Lazuli then looked at the male glaucous macaw carefully. Behind her, Pluto, Travis, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy looked on curiously.

"How can this be?" continued the male royal blue and grey macaw, "I-I-I thought you were killed by those bats."

"We still remember you getting separated from the rest of us during the siege," said the female macaw, "Together with Rodrigo. You both were a couple back then but when only Rodrigo returned and he told us that you disappeared, we had been devastated…"

"I remember being chased by those bats as well," said Lapis Lazuli as recognition slowly entered her eyes as she looked at the male macaw, "But how did you manage to survive those bats?"

"We were forced to abandon our home," said the male macaw, "And over the next number of years, we lived as nomads… a tribe of macaws without a home. We daren't try and settle in with the other tribes and clans because we didn't want to be a burden on them but, during the siege, we lost a lot of individual macaws and a lot of eggs and chicks. Our number is now around a hundred and fifty…"

"That's not many at all," whispered Travis. Lapis Lazuli then felt tearful happiness wash over her.

"Rudi," she cried in a strangled voice and with that, she leaped into the male macaw's wings. The macaw returned the hug and also began crying.

"Rudi?" repeated Pluto in curiosity. Then as the male macaw named Rudi and Lapis Lazuli broke the hug, Rudy smiled tearfully.

"Welcome back to the jungle, cousin," he whispered. The female macaw then hugged Lapis Lazuli.

"Oh, Valeria, you're here too," said Lapis Lazuli as the female brown-eyed macaw also cried. Then after the two females broke the hug, Valeria looked at Lapis Lazuli and said, "Look at you. You look just like your mother and your two sisters. Your mother and father would have been proud to have seen you and your two sisters grow up…"

"Yes, absolutely," said Rudi. Lapis Lazuli then turned to Rudi with a hopeful look on her face.

"Mom, Dad, my two sisters and your parents, Rudi," she said, "Are any of them still alive?"

Rudi, at first, remained silent but then he spoke but with a sombre voice tone.

"Lapis Lazuli, sorry to dash your hopes," he said, "But I'm afraid our families are no longer alive."

At this, Lapis Lazuli bowed her head and closed her eyes in sadness. Tears fought through her eyelids and trickled down her cheeks. Pluto came over to her and put a comforting wing on her shoulder while Travis, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy looked on in sympathy.

"We're sorry, Lapis," said Valeria, "But your mother, father and your two sisters, together with Rudi's mother, were among those killed by those flying foxes. Rudi's father had died a few years ago; he had been on an outing with some other members of our tribe trying to find us a new home but they got caught in the middle of a logging site. Rudi's father died when a tree fell on him, alongside three other macaws. Since his death, Rudi has succeeded him as leader."

"That's right," said Rudi, "It had been tragic news. As I was his only child, I took over."

Lapis Lazuli then raised her head, her eyes still weeping tears. Then Rudi took his turn to weep.

"But come to think of it," he said, "Now that we know you have somehow managed to escape being savaged by those ruthless flying featherless furballs, I can't believe you spent all the coming years from then until now, all alone, with no other glaucous macaw to talk to…"

Lapis Lazuli, at this, smiled and put a wing on her cousin's shoulder.

"Hey, I wasn't entirely alone," she said. She then gestured to Pluto and said, "I met Pluto here."

At this, Rudi looked up and saw Pluto as he shyly stood there looking back at him. He walked over to the macaw and said, "I'd like to thank you for taking care of my cousin all this time."

And with that, he held out a wing. Pluto, at first, hesitated as a wall of shyness stood in his way. But then he managed to climb the wall and overcome the shyness by taking Rudi's wing. Rudi then shook it as Pluto smiled sheepishly. After Rudi released Pluto's wing, he saw four small glaucous macaws standing beside Pluto. At this, he became curious.

"Who are these chicks?" asked Rudi.

"Oh, those are my chicks, Rudi," said Lapis Lazuli, "That's Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor."

She pointed to each one as she said each of their names. At this, Rudi became intrigued.

"Wow, you've even started a family while you were away from us?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, sometime after I met Pluto, we became mates and had those four," said Lapis Lazuli.

"Well, we're so glad for you," said Valeria with a smile. Then Blueberry and her three siblings spoke up.

"Hi, Mr Rudi," said Blueberry. Charon, Flor and Quincy simply raised their wings up to wave. Then Rudi eagerly scooped up the four chicks, much to their surprise.

"Welcome to your extended family, my four first cousins, once removed," said Rudi with a wide smile on his beak, "I guess you didn't know you had some relatives outside your family, didn't you?"

"Well, we didn't know that you'd still be alive," said Lapis Lazuli, "And because of that, we came to the conclusion that we're the last family of glaucous macaws alive on the planet."

"Well, rest assured that you're not anymore, Lapis," said Valeria, "But since you have arrived safe and well, it's time to let the other tribe members know."

And with that the other macaws all cheered. Then soon, Rudi and Valeria led Travis, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor towards where the other glaucous macaws stayed. Rudi looked disappointed as he led the group into a cluster of trees where the majority of the glaucous macaw tribe stayed.

"Ever since those flying foxes had driven us out and taken over our original home," explained Rudi, "resulting in the loss of quite a number of our tribe members, we were forced to wander around as nomads. Our original home had been a cluster of trees with a cave nearby but those bats will have taken those homes over shortly after they had driven us out…"

As Pluto and the other six with him looked around, he saw that the glaucous macaws lived in a number of trees. Some lived in hollows while the others appeared to have made nests on the branches. Pluto felt a pang of pity for the glaucous macaw tribe when he saw that they did not have a suitable group of trees to live in. dozens of glaucous macaws sat in the branches talking and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli caught sighted a group of chicks playing in one of the shorter trees.

"This is where we currently live now," said Rudi, "Over the years since we were driven out, we tried staying in other places but tree loss as the result of logging and deforestation forced us to frequently move. My dad had tried his best to look for us a new home but had died when he and his scouts got caught in the middle of a logging incident, leaving the leadership role for me and Valeria to take up. However, I had been continuing my dad's quest in finding a safe and secure place for our tribe to live without the worry of losing it to loggers or those pesky bats…"

"But why didn't you turn to the other macaw tribes or clans for help when you lost your home?" asked Travis, "I'm sure they would have helped..."

"We didn't want to burden them," said Rudi, "Their tribes and clans only have enough living space and food to sustain them and if well over a hundred macaws such as our tribe were to move in with another tribe or clan, our stay wouldn't last for very long because the food provided in those territories can only feed so many birds."

"Don't forget that the bird tribe and clan territories are also inhabited by some non-tribe or clan residents, you know," said Valeria, "We wanted to avoid competition with the other species."

Pluto, Travis and Lapis Lazuli exchanged glances before looking back at Valeria and Rudi. As the group flew past the nomadic glaucous macaws, Rudi began to cry out.

"Everyone, we bring you brilliant news!" he shouted, "My cousin Lapis Lazuli has returned. She has come back after so many years!"

As he shouted these words, grey heads with yellow facial markings turned in the group's direction as they flew past. Travis looked around at the flock in amazement. He had never seen so many glaucous macaws but he had a feeling that they were the only flock of them in the entire world. Travis, along with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, were also concerned for the glaucous macaws' safety. They were living out here, as a nomadic tribe with no place they could truly call home. Then another thing came to Travis's mind. The glaucous macaw tribe was very vulnerable and open to devastation caused by logging and if they didn't move into the safety of the sanctuary set up by Linda and Tulio, they could be at risk of being killed when loggers came and destroyed the trees they lived in. Thus, the presence of the glaucous macaws must be made known to the ornithologists as soon as possible. While Travis had this in mind, Rudi led the group to a tree. It was a small tree and in its trunk was a hole leading to a relatively small hollow. As the group perched outside the hollow, Rudi turned to Travis, Pluto and his family.

"Right, first thing's first is we're going to find you and your family some place to stay, Lapis Lazuli," he said, "And then I am going to send out some scouts to continue our search for a place to live and some foraging groups to find some food to bring back to our food storage tree..."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli stood there with their chicks. Then after Rudi had finished saying these things, he disappeared into the hollow.

"I'm just going to check on our two chicks," he said as he entered the hollow, "They had just hatched the other day and because Valeria and I are so busy with the tasks, we have hired a babysitter to help take care of them…"

Soon, talking was heard from within the hollow as Rudi talked with the babysitter.

"How are our two sons doing, Florence?" -Rudi's voice.

"They're fine, Rudi, they've just gone to sleep," -the babysitter's voice. Pluto listened. He remembered when Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor had been young and had just hatched. He and Lapis Lazuli had cared for their chicks in Tulio's Aviary back in Rio so that Tulio and his team could monitor the wellbeing and development of the four chicks during their first two months of life. Mercury, Sapphire and Venus and Zephyr, who had Brisa by their side, had also raised their chicks in Tulio's Aviary. Then moments later, Rudi emerged from the hollow.

"Sorry about that, folks," he said, "I'm just checking on my and Valeria's sons. Sounds like they're okay and Florence, the babysitter, is doing fine with them…"

"What are they called, Mr Rudi?" asked Blueberry.

"Alberto and Lorenzo," replied Rudi, "They're not very old. Only about a few days…"

"They're younger than their cousins," said Lapis Lazuli as she looked at Charon, Blueberry Flor and Quincy as they stood around her.

"We'll be looking forward to seeing our sons play with yours then," said Valeria. Rudi then turned to Pluto and his family and said, "Right, let's find you six a place to stay. Unfortunately, the only places we sleep in are branches and small hollows so you will have to make do with those for now until we find another place to live."

"And if you start complaining, Lapis Lazuli," said Valeria, "Blame it on the flying foxes. They're the ones who took away our home."

Lapis Lazuli sighed as Rudi then commanded her and her family to follow him. Travis also went with the group. As the group flew through the trees decorated with the blue or turquoise and grey forms of the glaucous macaws, Pluto scanned most of the glaucous macaws' sleeping spots. They were nests constructed under the densest collection of leaves, probably for shelter from the rain. Pluto also examined how the nests were quite close together. Glaucous macaw individuals and families slept within inches of each other, and those that had mates and/or chicks had their wings slung around them when they slept in these nests. Pluto felt sympathetic. Back in Rio on the Blu Bird Sanctuary, he, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks had stayed in a hollow that had four compartments, one of which served as a living spot for the whole family while the other three were sleeping quarters. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had one room, Charon and Quincy had another and Flor and Blueberry had the third. Lapis Lazuli was also appalled when she saw how few tribe members had proper hollows to sleep in.

"Is that all you had to have since we lost our home?" she asked Rudi in shock.

"I'm afraid so," said Rudi sadly, "Only few of us have proper hollows. The rest of us have to sleep in nests constructed under the thickest leaf clusters as they provide sufficient shelter from the rain. Anyway, let's see if we can find you a hollow. If not, you will have to sleep outside in a nest."

Pluto sighed. He did not like the idea of sleeping outside but seeing so many glaucous macaws having no choice but to do just that made him feel sorry for those macaws. The group continued flying through the trees until finally, Rudi arrived at a hole in a tree just outside the makeshift glaucous macaw home.

"Here, I don't know if this will do," said Rudi, "It's the only one I could find."

Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy entered the hollow and looked around. Travis followed. The hollow was quite small but it had three compartments.

"Well, I don't want us to sleep outside in a nest on a branch," said Pluto, "But I think this will have to do. It sure is smaller than the previous one we had before flying out here."

"Where did you live?" asked Rudi.

"We lived near a human city called Rio de Janeiro," said Lapis Lazuli, "There's a forest just outside it."

When Rudi heard this, he made a distasteful scowl.

"Human cities, dangerous places they are," he growled slightly, "I'm glad we don't live anywhere near those awful places, and I certainly don't like humans at all. can you please not mention that subject again? It's too disturbing, like that flying fox incident."

"Okay, we will not mention anything about humans again," said Lapis Lazuli. Travis, at this, made a surprised face.

"Thanks," said Rudi. He then smiled and said, "Well, I hope you settle in and I'll see you again shortly."

And with that, he turned and flew out of the hollow, leaving Lapis Lazuli and the other six to settle in. Lapis Lazuli checked the compartments.

"Well, looks like we will need some nesting material to make some nests for us to sleep in," she said, "It will have to do until our tribe finds somewhere suitable to live."

As she examined the compartments and planned where the nests will be, Travis looked disturbed.

"The glaucous macaw tribe deserves a far better living area than this," he said, "One they need a cluster of trees that is big enough to provide them all with shelter with room to spare, together with plenty of food and space and two, they need to be under the protection of our human friends…"

"We'll have to figure that out," said Pluto, "Due to our species being so rare, we can't have this only flock of glaucous macaws living out here vulnerable to poaching and logging…"

He then thought and asked, "But the question is… how?"

"We'll worry about that later," said Lapis Lazuli, "The first thing we've gotta do is find some nesting material and build ourselves some nests before dusk."

She then turned to Travis and said, "Can you look after our four chicks please while we search for some nesting material?"

"Okay," said Travis.

"Aww, can't we come, Mom?" asked Blueberry.

"We wanna look around," said Charon.

"I'd love to see some insects like butterflies," said Quincy.

"And some flowers," added Flor. Pluto turned to the four chicks.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to stay with your Uncle Travis, kids," he said, "We've got a job to do and we need to make sure that our nests are built before sundown."

The four kids sighed disappointed as Travis put his wings around them.

"Well, we'd better be off," said Pluto, "We've a job to do. Do you mind helping us to build the nests, Travis?"

"Oh, sure," said Travis, "I'm more than happy to help out anytime."

Pluto smiled and with that, he hopped onto the rim of the hollow entrance. Lapis Lazuli looked at Travis.

"We'll be back shortly," she said, "And kids, be good, okay?"

Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy nodded and with that, the two glaucous macaws left.

Meanwhile, back in the Lear's macaws' territory, Mercury and Sapphire had been spending some time just on the outskirts of the Lear's macaws' home patch and ravine. The sun was now quite close to the west horizon, preparing to descend beneath it to end the day. Close to the ravine, several dozen navy blue forms were flying by.

"Boy, it sure is great to have a break from raising our daughters, eh, Mercury?" said Sapphire as she ate her favourite fruit, a pink dragonfruit. She offered Mercury some but he shook his head as he ate a passionfruit.

"Yeah, our girls can be hard to raise sometimes," said Mercury. He then bit a piece of the passionfruit and swallowed it.

"You know something, I'm impressed at how well Venus has adapted to the wild," he continued.

"She's fulfilled her parents' dream of finding others like herself in the Amazon, hasn't she?" said Sapphire happily, "Well, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago have done that first. We just followed their flight path. I'd say we've fulfilled your parents' dream in finding other Lear's macaws out in the Amazon…"

"Yeah, that's true," said Mercury as he bit into his passionfruit again. The two continued eating their fruit until they finally finished and threw away the inedible shells.

"I wonder how Travis, and Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their chicks are doing out there," said Mercury as he gazed out into the endless sea of trees, "Those glaucous macaws surely can't be far, anyway."

"To our tribe's knowledge," said Sapphire, "The glaucous macaw tribe had been slaughtered by those bats but to hear of a sighting from Travis and his family was a real shock."

"Well one of the humans from one of the expedition groups did say he discovered a glaucous macaw and even taken a picture of it," said Mercury, "So there's no reason to discredit the glaucous macaws' existence."

"True," said Sapphire, "But it's a matter of those humans finding those birds properly if the confirmation of the glaucous macaws' existence is to be fulfilled…"

Mercury sighed and then gazed at the sky. It was coloured in a mix of liquid gold and pink by the sun's rays and it would soon be sunset. This was the right time for some romance.

"Shall we take our girls out stargazing when they become old enough?" asked Mercury, "I would love to do just that when we get the chance."

"In time, my dear," said Sapphire. As the two Lear's macaws gazed out into the coloured sky, Sapphire leaned onto Mercury's shoulder and Mercury draped her with a wing. However, the couple were not aware that someone was watching them. A green-eyed male macaw with a fairly muscular build watched the couple from a tree behind them. He glared at Sapphire as she leaned onto Mercury jealously.

"You know, I just hope our tribe is discovered at some point by our human friends," said Sapphire, "Therefore Linda and Tulio would include our home, and the green tribe's home, into the sanctuary too."

"And I hope our tribe makes peace with the green macaws as well," crooned Mercury as he leaned onto Sapphire's crown. Sapphire smiled and looked into his eyes.

"You know what impresses me the most? It is how well you have adapted to the wild despite being a pet for the first fifteen years of your life apart from the few months you spent before you were smuggled out of Brazil," crooned Sapphire lovingly. Behind her and Mercury, the green-eyed macaw named Archie popped his head up in shock.

"Murphy's a former HUMAN'S PET!?" he hissed to himself. Mercury then gazed into Sapphire's eyes.

"Wow, your eyes certainly do sparkle like your namesake gemstone," crooned Mercury as he was mesmerised by the glisten of Sapphire's blue gem-like eyes. "Is that what your parents named you?"

"Well, Mom told me that she had heard of a blue gem called a sapphire," explained Sapphire, "And because my blue eyes reminded her of that gemstone, she chose the name for me days after I was born, and there we have it."

"Well, Bia told me that sapphires don't just come in blue, you know," said Mercury.

"They don't?" asked Sapphire surprised. Mercury shook his head with a smile.

"No, blue is just the most common and familiar colour of the gemstone," he said, "There's such a thing as pink sapphire as well. Bia also told me that rubies are a form of sapphire too except that they're red instead of blue or rich pink due to different impurities in the crystal."

"Interesting," said Sapphire with an intrigued smile, "That daughter of Blu and Jewel's sure is a science freak. She should start a mini library of her favourite books or something."

"I agree," said Mercury with an amused smile. Then the two continued gazing at colour changing sky as the sun continued sinking towards the horizon, Sapphire leaning lovingly onto Mercury's shoulder and the latter with his wing around the former and his head on her crown. Behind Mercury and Sapphire, Archie gazed at the couple for a while and then flew off back to the ravine.

"Well, I'd love it if we stayed here but we'd better head back," said Sapphire as she thought of Phoebe, Annette and Jasmine, "Sunset and Waldo will be waiting for us and it will soon be our kids' bedtime."

"Yup," said Mercury before he let loose a big yawn, "It's been a tiring day and I'm ready for some shuteye."

"Not to mention that long flight we had to make from Rio to here," said Sapphire, "Anyway, let's go home."

Mercury smiled and with that, the couple left their perch and flew back in the direction of the Lear's macaws' ravine.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14- Jupiter and company's first night in the Amazon**

Back in the Spix macaws' ravine, the majority of the Spix macaws were preparing to watch the sunset. In their new hollow, Venus had just put Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil to bed. As she tucked in Charlotte and Matilda in their shared bedroom, Matilda begged her mother to join in with watching the sunset. Near her, Charlotte had already entered the world of sleep.

"Can I watch the sunset, please, Mommy?" squeaked Matilda. Venus smiled.

"I'm sorry, Matilda but you're a bit too young to stay up at the moment. Maybe when you become a little older but for now, it's time for bed."

At the entrance to Charlotte and Matilda's room, Zephyr looked on, a loving smile on his beak. Then after Venus had kissed Matilda on the head and told her that she will see her tomorrow, Venus left the room and met Zephyr.

"It had only taken Justin and Virgil minutes to drop off," said Zephyr, "Not surprising really. It's been a long day."

"They could barely keep their eyes open," said Venus with a loving nuzzle against Zephyr's neck.

"Right, are we ready to watch the sunset?" asked Zephyr, "Most of the tribe's already gathering outside."

Venus smiled and with that, the pair dropped down from Charlotte and Matilda's room and then left their tree. Outside above the Spix macaws' ravine, the sky was changing colour and the sun was descending towards the horizon. As Zephyr and Venus flew by, Blu and Jewel were also preparing to watch the sunset. They had also tucked in Carla, Bia and Tiago into their nests.

"You know what one of our favourite romantic sights is, Blu?" asked Venus, "A starry night. Zephyr and I sometimes sat on a branch gazing at the sky back in Rio."

"It is an awesome sight to behold," said Blu as he looked through his fanny pack for something, "Jewel and I also watched the stars on night. Our daughter Bia actually knows quite a bit about the skies."

"You know every time I look at the heavens, I always see them as an amazing work of an All-powerful Artist, especially how the constellations such as Orion are set out," breathed Venus as she pictured a starry night in her head.

"Well, I wouldn't call it the work of some artist, Venus," said Blu as he continued looking through his belt bag, "Those stars are just balls of burning plasma gas billions of light years away. The products of the big bang billions of years ago."

"You can't possibly believe that the stars we see is the result of pure chance," said Venus, "Especially the arranged patterns of some of the stars like in the constellations of Orion, the Big Dipper of the Southern Cross in the Southern Hemisphere. It's got to be obvious that there is a Creator Who stretched out the heavens…"

"Well, that Creator…" began Blu when Zephyr interrupted.

"Are you coming, Venus and Blu?" shouted Zephyr as he hovered in the distance. Venus and Blu looked up at him, "We're waiting for you, especially Jewel, Blu."

"Coming," said Venus and with that, Zephyr flew off to the watch spot. When she saw Blu continue to fumble through the fanny pack, she frowned.

"What are you searching for in that bum bag of yours now, Blu?" asked Venus.

"I'm trying to find my bug spray," replied Blu, "I'm being bothered by a pesky fly again and I'm going to ward it off with the spray. Bingo!"

And with that, he lifted out a metal bottle Venus recognised as insect repellent, or bug spray. Then suddenly, a black speck flew in and buzzed around Blu's head.

"Oh, get outa here, you pesky bug," muttered Blu and with that, he tried to spray it with his bug spray. Venus looked on and rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Did you know we can actually eat certain insects, Blu?" she asked. Blu shot her a brief glare before turning his attention back to the annoying bug and didn't reply. He continued sending jets of more bug spray at the insect but it continued buzzing around his face. Then as the bug dodged another squirt of Blu's bug spray and buzzed towards Venus and then around her face, the pigtailed Spix macaw immediately opened her beak and snapped it shut over the fly, making Blu jolt and flinch in disgust.

"Ugh, did you just eat that?" he muttered repulsively.

"Let's just go to watch the sunset, shall we?" said Venus with a slightly annoyed look on her face. And with that she opened her wings and took off in the direction of the watch point. Blu looked on in shock.

"She may be named after the second planet in the Solar System," he muttered, "But it seems she is also named after that insectivorous plant with the jaw-like leaves as well."

Still repulsed at the sight of Venus eating the fly, Blu put the bug spray back into his fanny pack and took off and followed some of the other Spix macaws as they headed to the watch point. Soon the watch point, which was a cluster of trees, was decorated with blue of various shades. All eyes of the forms were turned towards the sunset, the sun by now sinking into the horizon. It was an awesome sight. The sun's rays painted the surrounding sky and cloud a brilliant combination of yellows and pinks. Among the crowd of blue birds, some couples were together. Venus and Zephyr were perched on the same branch, Venus leaning lovingly onto Zephyr's shoulder. Nearby, Jewel waited for Blu who appeared.

"There you are, Blu," said Jewel with a smile, "What took you so long?"

"You wouldn't believe what Venus just did with that annoying fly," muttered Blu, still repulsed at Venus eating the insect, "She snapped her beak on it and ate it."

Jewel just smiled and leaned onto Blu's shoulder as she fixed her eyes on the sunset.

"I can't believe that Venus would eat a bug," muttered Blu, "Ugh, the very thought of it makes me feel a bit nauseated."

Zephyr then looked at Blu with a smile.

"Well, it's one of those things, Blu," he said, "Bugs are a part of our diet besides fruit and certain other plant material."

Blu flinched in revulsion with his tongue sticking out. He clearly didn't like the thought of eating insects, and while he didn't mind eating natural fruit alongside certain human food which was the type of food he often consumed during his time with Linda in Minnesota, he hated the thought of eating an insect. Turning to Venus as she leaned lovingly onto Zephyr's shoulder, Blu frowned.

"Doesn't the jungle ever feel exotic and foreign to you at all?" he asked, "I mean for a bird from the United Kingdom it surely must feel strange…"

"Look, I may have lived as a pet for fifteen years of my life in that country, Blu," replied Venus, "But the jungle truly does feel like home."

Blu looked on in surprise. During his time as a domesticated bird in the United States under the care of Linda his human companion, he didn't seem to have learned many skills that would later be useful for his adapting in to the wild in the future, something Venus, along with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto had done, such as using their beaks to bite through string which would later be used to cut through vines, flying which was something Blu had never learned to do throughout his time as a domestic bird, though Pluto hadn't learned to fly when he was smuggled out of Brazil, but he was eventually taught by Jupiter and his friends in London and had taken his first flight in that human city. What shocked and surprised Blu even more was the fact that Venus was able to forage for food quite well and build simple nests, something he hadn't been able to do up until his group's journey into the Amazon to find the Spix macaw tribe. However, Blu was making progress and was slowly learning to forage for food and build a nest. While Blu continued going over his surprise at Venus's rapid adaptation into the wild, the macaws in the watch spot continued to gaze into the darkening sky. The sun continued sinking behind the horizon and the pink and orange colour it painted the sky and clouds was slowly being overtaken by the darkness of night opposite the sunrise.

In the red tribe's home patch, which was a large cluster of trees, some of which were kapoks, some of the red macaws were also watching the sunset. Among them were Jupiter, Mars, Chiquitita and Ruby. They had also put their kids (Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre for Mars and Chiquitita and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto for Jupiter and Ruby) to bed. Shortly after the celebration of Ruby and Chiquitita's return with the dance, 'The Red Macaws with the Blue, Yellow and Green Wings', Felipe had taken Jupiter and Mars out on a training session while Pearl had helped their respective mates Ruby and Chiquitita to find a tree each. Jupiter and Ruby's tree was similar to many of the trees in which the Spix macaws lived in their ravine. It had five bedrooms, which was perfect for a family with four chicks. Io got the topmost bedroom, Europa got the second most top, Ganymede got the third and Callisto chose the fourth while Jupiter and Ruby selected the lowermost room. Mars and Chiquitita's tree was smaller and had three bedrooms. Mars and Chiquitita had chosen the lowermost bedroom while Deimos got the middle room and Alexandre and Phobos both got the larger topmost room. The two trees were close to each other and not far from Felipe and Pearl's tree. After all, Ruby was Pearl's sister and Chiquitita was one of Pearl and Ruby's best friends when they were chicks. As the flock of scarlet and green-winged macaws watched the sun sink below the horizon, a thought about Mercury, Uranus and their families and of course the glaucous macaws came into Jupiter's head.

"You know something, I think there are more glaucous macaws out there somewhere," said Jupiter to Ruby who leaned against his shoulder, "I'm certain of it."

"Well, Felipe and Pearl may not believe it but I certainly agree," said Ruby, "After all, one of the bird ecologist groups have reported a sighting of one of those extremely rare birds."

As she said this, three small heads peered through the entrance of Jupiter and Ruby's new tree. Io, Ganymede and Callisto had come to watch their parents but Europa was still asleep.

"I would love to see other _Anodorhynchus glaucous_ besides Uncle Pluto, Aunt Lapis Lazuli and Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor," said Ganymede in a low voice.

"It would be an awesome sight to see a flock of those birds," said Callisto. Io sharply silenced her younger but larger brother and sister.

"I know it would, bro and sis but can you please keep our voices down?" she said in a whisper, "Mom, Dad, Auntie Pearl, Uncle Felipe and Uncle Mars and Auntie Chiquitita might hear us."

Callisto and Ganymede responded with slight glares.

"What do you mean the glaucous macaw tribe might still be alive?" asked Felipe who sat with Pearl leaning on his shoulder nearby, "I'm afraid they've been slaughtered by the flying foxes, Ruby."

"Yeah," said Pearl, "When Violeta's parents, when they led the Bluewing Clan before Violeta and her mate Demetrio took over, and some patrollers from that flock of hyacinth macaws and from the blue-throated macaw clan went into the former home of the glaucous macaws, carefully keeping out of sight of those bats, they found no signs of any of the tribe at all except corpses."

"A bird ecologist has managed to glimpse a glaucous macaw, Felipe," said Mars who sat with Chiquitita nearby, "We saw it on TV back in Rio."

"What's a 'TV'?" asked Pearl.

"It's a box that has moving pictures on it," explained Jupiter, "It's a human's electronic device kind of like the GPS you would have seen in Blu's possession when he accidentally intruded into your side…"

"I never got a glimpse of that JDS or whatever you call that thingamajig…" said Felipe. Jupiter then stopped trying to explain what a TV was, knowing that Felipe and Pearl might not understand for they had never seen one in their entire lives. Ruby then moved onto Mercury and Uranus and their families.

"I wonder how our Lear's and green macaw friends are doing in the green and Lear's macaw tribes," she said, "I think they'll have settled into those two tribes by now."

"The green and Lear's macaws are still in conflict with each other," said Pearl, "It's going to be a tough road for those two families."

"Well there is one thing," said Mars, "The green and Lear's macaws are still vulnerable to losing their trees to loggers or being captured by poachers especially the Lear's macaws for they are extremely rare."

"That's very true," said Pearl, "I'm surprised those humans that have set our home and the Spix, the two hyacinth clans and their co-inhabitants and the blue-and-gold macaws' homes up as a sanctuary and have not included the greens and the Lear's tribe's home…"

"The humans have yet to find sufficient evidence of their existence," said Jupiter, "I hope Mercury and Uranus convince the two tribes' leaders that their species needs protecting and that Pluto and his family can find those glaucous macaws…"

"Valentino and Alonso?" said Felipe, "Those two despise humans with a burning passion, kind of how like Soleado, Eduardo and I did. It's not going to be an easy task, especially with those two macaw tribes still in conflict."

Jupiter sighed and continued gazing at the sinking sun. Io, Ganymede and Callisto sighed with fallen faces.

"Sounds like Uncle Mercury, Uncle Uranus, Aunt Esmeralda and Aunt Sapphire are going to have some difficulties, sisters," said Ganymede. Io then yawned.

"Let's go back to bed," she murmured tiredly and with that she disappeared back into the tree. Callisto followed, remaining only Ganymede. He continued staring at his parents, Felipe, Pearl, Chiquitita and Mars for another minute before retreating back into the tree to go to bed as well.

In the blue-and-gold macaw tribe's home, some of the blue-and-gold macaws had also perched on some trees to watch the sunset but the rest had gone to bed. The sun was almost completely gone with a segment of the blinding star's disk still visible over the line of the horizon, getting one last glimpse of the day before disappearing completely. Saturn and Orquidea were outside their new tree. Their tree was large, larger than Roberto's tree in the Spix tribe's ravine and one of the largest trees in Soleado and Zoie's tribe's home. Its base was large and it was tall. The tree had seven bedrooms and it was decorated with some flowers. Orquidea had hoped to add more flowers to increase the diversity of colours in her family's new home, for she loved flowers. The seven rooms had been taken by Saturn and Orquidea's seven chicks. Saturn and Orquidea's sleeping spot, however, was at the very top of the tree on a branching root that protruded into the hollow. This root was strong enough to support two adult birds and Saturn and Orquidea had set to building a nest which will be their sleeping spot on this root. However, both macaws will have to sleep in a branch outside the tree for now until the nest was complete. The large tree did not have a bath pool unlike Roberto's tree but Saturn did not mind as long his family had a tree to live in. while their seven chicks were asleep for they had been put to bed by Orquidea, the couple were stood just outside the entrance to their new hollow, Orquidea leaning onto Saturn's shoulder and Saturn with his wing draped over Orquidea's back. The two had decided to have some romantic time together after a hard day before departing to bed themselves.

"Boy, I'm ready for bed, my flower," said Saturn followed by a large yawn.

"I know, sweetie," crooned Orquidea as she rested against his shoulder, "It's been a long flight and a busy time settling in."

Saturn sighed and continued watching the sunset.

"By the way, in which direction is the flying foxes' territory?" asked Saturn. Orquidea then pointed a wing in the direction.

"Over there," she said, "It is bordered by Demetrio and Reynaldo's clans' territory and the green tribe's territory with a strip of free area separating the two borders."

"Has any bird from this tribe ventured into the flying foxes' territory before?" asked Saturn.

"Only once," said Orquidea, "After those bats drove out the red-fronted macaw clan, Soleado had sent in some blue-and-gold patrollers to help the patrol groups from Demetrio and Reynaldo's clans to find and bring back any survivors while we took care of the red-fronted macaws that had managed to escape. They now live in the trees around our territory."

"How many red-fronted macaws have managed to escape?" asked Saturn.

"Several dozen," said Orquidea, "Honestly, those flying foxes are barbaric, Saturn. I just hope their latest leaders; Cicatriz and Iracebeth aren't planning on attacking us. We've reached a temporary truce that we birds won't intrude into their territory and vice versa and have kept our secret investigations to ourselves when trying to search for surviving red-fronted macaws."

"The red-fronted macaws' territory must have been littered with dead and dying macaws…" murmured Saturn slightly repulsed.

"It was carnage, honestly," said Orquidea, "It's like that with every bit of area formerly belonging to a bird tribe or clan. After the glaucous macaw tribe was driven out by those bats, some of the hyacinth macaws from the Bluewing Clan, when Violeta's parents led it at the time, they found dozens and dozens of dead and dying individual glaucous macaws and several other bird species that had lived on the territory of the glaucous macaw tribe and could not find any glaucous macaw within saving reach at all. Since then, we had come to the conclusion that the glaucous tribe had completely perished at the clutches of those barbaric bats."

"Of course Lapis Lazuli had managed to survive," said Saturn.

"The flying foxes' invasion of the glaucous tribe's territory took place months after the devastating fire, Zoie told me while I was settling into this tree while you were out training with Soleado," said Orquidea, "And shortly after, a clan of toco toucans were driven out. We don't know why but it appears that those bats are bent on expanding their colony and grabbing more land from every bird tribe and clan they could lay their claws on."

A worried look appeared on Saturn's face but Orquidea made a reassuring one.

"I wouldn't worry about it, my dear," she said, "Our tribe and clan leaders have made a strict truce with Cicatriz's parents to stop any more bird tribe and clan massacres and since then, there had been no activity from the bats around our borders but Demetrio and Reynaldo's patrollers are keeping a close eye on the border to make sure because we don't know how long that truce might last."

"Well, if there had been no flying fox activities around the border then there shouldn't be any reason to be worried about it," said Saturn.

"That's true but we must make sure that we are well prepared," said Orquidea, "Because we aren't sure if Cicatriz might plan on targeting our homes or not."

Saturn sighed and then turned his eyes toward the sunset with Orquidea leaning on his shoulder. The sun had completely disappeared behind the horizon but its rays still painted the surrounding sky with gold and pink. Overhead, the darkness of the night was chasing away the daylight and a few flecks of white light, indicating stars, were slowly emerging from the veil of the sun's bright rays.

In the Navyfeather hyacinth Clan's home patch, a group of hyacinth macaws were flying through a large cluster of trees to go to bed with the others. They too had been up to watch the sunset. The Navyfeather Clan's home patch was a very large cluster of trees and some were giant kapok trees. Kapoks were enormous trees and they sometimes towered above the other trees of the Amazon rainforest. Because of the sheer size of the trees' interiors, several bird families could live in one single kapok tree. However, some of the hyacinth macaws had chosen to live in the smaller trees. Due to the rather small number of birds in the clan, a lot of the trees were unoccupied and there was another large cluster of trees just outside the Navyfeathers' main home patch, almost all of which had hollows to live in. The Navyfeathers' home was large enough to support a tribe of macaws as big as the Spix tribe let alone a small clan of hyacinth macaws. However, the Navyfeathers had kept the large number of spare trees and surplus food supply in their territory open in case another clan or small tribe of birds wanted to move in. hyacinth macaw clans were known for their hospitality to other birds of the Amazon and sometimes sharing their habitat with another bird clan and sometimes a larger tribe but that was only possible if their territory was big enough with enough food to support two bird flocks. The leader of the Navyfeather Clan was Flavio and he was the uncle of Marinho and Ultramarine. After Ultramarine had reunited with her uncle, older brother and their friends, the clan had had a celebration dance to their anthem 'Dance of the Navyfeathers'. Following this, Flavio had taken Neptune out training and a tour of the area including to the homes of some of his friends, among them a hoatzin named Fedor (whose name meant 'stench' or 'stink' in Spanish, a fitting name for a bird known for its smelly breath due to the digestion of fruit in its stomach, and hoatzins were sometimes known as stinkbirds) while Marinho helped Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo to find a spot to live. Ultramarine's living space of choice was a small tree close to the entrance to the Navyfeather Clan's village. This tree had three rooms and some ripe fruit growing on it, and Ultramarine and Neptune liked it immediately and moved in. The tree was not too far away from Flavio's tree whose hollow entrance was closed off by a curtain of vine and moss decorated with navy blue feathers to signify that this was the clan leader's home. As the group of hyacinth macaws flew back into the cluster of trees, a group of four hyacinth macaws split from the others and flew towards Neptune and Ultramarine's tree.

"Well, it's been a great time watching the sunset," said one of them, Ultramarine, "I enjoyed it."

"It's been an awesome sight to watch," said Neptune, "Romantic too."

"Well, I'm glad you two enjoyed it," said one of the hyacinth macaws accompanying them, a male named Flavio. The other macaw was Marinho. Flavio was quite a middle-aged hyacinth macaw. Like most hyacinths he had dark navy blue feathers, yellow eye rings and beak lappet, and dark grey beak and feet. Flavio had a burly build and violet eyes like his niece and his head feathers were a short collection of short feathers hanging from the back of his head. Flavio was showing signs of old age. His navy blue feathers were streaked with silver and his talons were knobbly. However, unlike Eduardo and Valentino, Flavio did not have bags under his eyes. Marinho was also navy blue with yellow facial features and black feet and beak. However, he was slightly stockier than Ultramarine and had blue eyes, a short sheet of feathers flat on his crown and another flick of feathers sticking up from the back of his neck. The feathers flicked upward somewhat like Blu's neck feathers except that they were confined to just the back of his neck. Marinho's name derived from the Portuguese term for navy blue: 'azul marinho', the most common shade of blue for hyacinth macaws. As Neptune and Ultramarine continued flying in the direction of their new tree where Triton and Indigo were asleep, Neptune shot a glance in the direction of the large cluster of trees just outside the Navyfeathers' main home patch.

"Have you ever housed another bird flock on your territory, Flavio?" he asked.

"That cluster of trees hasn't been used since we moved in and no-one has ever used any of them to live in yet," said Flavio, "But we hope that another bird flock might move in so that they can be used. My clan members have been looking after and maintaining the hollows and making sure that they don't become worn and unsuitable to live in."

"Maybe that tree cluster could become some sort of a home for a bird tribe or clan that had been driven out by those flying foxes or something," said Neptune.

"That's a possibility but so often any bird tribe or clan that have been attacked very rarely survive in large numbers at the claws of those flying furballs," said Flavio with a frown on his face, "When the red-fronted macaw clan have been driven out recently as we've heard from some of Felipe and Pearl's patrollers, only as few as three dozen have survived. There had been little more than a hundred of those birds but the survivors have moved in to live as non-tribe or clan birds on the territories of our clan and Demetrio and Reynaldo's clans."

"The toco toucan clan didn't stand a chance when they were attacked when you were a chick, didn't they, Uncle?" asked Marinho. Flavio shook his head with a dark look on his face.

"No, they didn't," he said, "Very few had managed to survive when the flying foxes attacked their clan. The Azul Oscuro Clan of hyacinth macaws were also targeted by the flying foxes but before those furballs could drive them out, loggers came and decimated that clan of hyacinth macaws."

"So how do you know those flying foxes might be planning an invasion?" asked Neptune, "What are the warning signs?"

"Well, it could vary but generally," said Marinho, "The initial signs are reports of minor flying fox intrusions on the territory of a bird tribe or clan. These then escalate to more frequent intrusions with attacks on the members of the flock..."

Neptune shuddered at this.

"Yes," added Flavio as the hyacinth macaw quartet touched down outside of Neptune and Ultramarine's tree's hollow entrance, "And then finally, the devastating attack from a large wave of flying foxes. Some of the red-fronted macaws that had survived their clan's slaughter from those furballs had reported to us that the siege took place at midnight with the bats charging in, screeching battle cries and carrying sharp weapons, mostly in the form of sticks with a sharpened tip, and their eyes glowing terrifyingly in the dark."

Neptune widened his eyes in horror.

"Honestly," said Flavio with a stern look, "Those bats are savage and barbaric when they drive out a bird tribe or clan. When they do so, they practically slaughter every bird they could lay their claws on, regardless of whether they are chicks, elderly or young and fit birds. That's why corpses are found shortly in the aftermath of the attack. Some of the red-fronted macaws that now live here have suffered nightmares for weeks on end after their clan had been driven out."

"Those bats aren't planning an attack on us now, aren't they, uncle?" asked Ultramarine worriedly.

"No," said Flavio with a shake of his head, "We had reached a truce with the bat colony's leaders Bruto and Sombra that we keep ourselves to ourselves and stay out of each other's territory but now that their oldest son Cicatriz has taken over, we aren't sure how long the truce might last. Our patrol groups have been examining the territories and the border to the colony's territory to make sure that the bats aren't planning anything and so far, the reports have been no activity."

"That's good then," said Neptune, his nerves calmer, "Too bad about the glaucous macaw tribe…"

"The glaucous macaws?" repeated Marinho with a raised eyebrow, "Those birds are extremely rare, aren't they? Weren't those macaws also driven out by the flying foxes?"

"They were, sadly," said Flavio, "Four years after the fire caused by the loggers."

He then shot Neptune a surprised look and said, "But I'm still surprised that one of them by the name of Lapis Lazuli you told me has survived that massacre and is now the mate of a male glaucous with four chicks."

"She is, yes," said Neptune. He then wondered.

"Where are Lapis and her family now, anyway?" he asked.

"Well, I think it's time for bed," said Ultramarine followed by a big yawn, "I'm tired."

"Yeah, so am I," said Neptune and with that, he and Ultramarine hugged Marinho and then Flavio.

"We'll see you both tomorrow," said Flavio as he broke the hug with his niece, "I would like to take your two chicks with some other hyacinth macaw chicks out on a trip of our territory tomorrow."

Neptune and Ultramarine nodded and retreated into their hollow.

"And you did well in your training as well Neptune," said Flavio. Neptune smiled as his tail vanished into the dark hollow. As soon as the two macaws were in their hollow, Flavio and Marinho took off and flew in the direction of their trees to go to bed as well.

In the blue-throated and Bluewing hyacinth clans' territory, Ceres was settling into the new tree Cobalto had chosen for the family to live in. It was quite small and it had two bedrooms. One was very large and the other small. Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio had got the biggest bedroom for it was large enough for three chicks to sleep in, which they didn't mind, and Ceres and Cobalto had got the smaller bedroom. With Ceres were Cobalto, Violeta, Demetrio's mate and a blue-throated macaw named Hugo, one of Cobalto's child-hood friends and Reynaldo's inner circle birds and patrollers. Like most hyacinth macaws, Violeta had dark navy blue feathers but like every other hyacinth, she had yellow facial features, black beak and black feet and was almost twice the size of the blue-throated macaws and the other small macaw species including the Spix, scarlet and green-winged. However, she had a rather unusual colour to her navy blue feathers: in the right light they were violet tinted. Violeta's eyes were also dark blue and she had a short ponytail on her head which she kept tied in a vine. Violeta was a loving and kind hyacinth macaw and was always willing to help. Her voice was deep and had a silky tone to it, similar to Roberto's. Like some of the birds in the other macaw tribes and clans, some of the members had been out to watch the sunset but it was by now dark and Ceres and Cobalto had been among them.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed the sunset, Ceres," said Violeta in her deep, silky voice with a smile, "And also in your training with Reynaldo."

"Yeah, you did very well," said Hugo.

"Thanks," said Ceres as she prepared to go to bed with Cobalto.

"By the way, you're on night patrol at the border of our territory to that of the flying fox colony's turf, aren't you?" Cobalto asked Hugo.

"I certainly am," said Hugo, "I'm going to go out with some of the other blue-throated macaws and some of Violeta and Demetrio's clan members."

"We have to keep a constant eye on the border and the strip of unowned land dividing our border from the flying foxes' territory border to make sure that those bats are keeping to the truce my parents and the leaders of the other bird tribes and clans living here made with the then leaders of the bats, Bruto and Sombra," said Violeta. She then frowned and said, "But now that their eldest son Cicatriz and his mate Iracebeth have succeeded them as the colony's leaders, we're not sure how long that truce might last. That's why we have patrollers keeping a close eye on the border and our territory to make sure those bats aren't planning to drive us out. We also help the other macaw tribes and clans to check their territories for bats as well but it is not easy with the green and Lear's macaw tribes with their rift still in place. I just hope those two tribes make peace like how the red and Spix macaw tribes did…"

"Have you met Cicatriz or any of the bats before?" asked Ceres.

"I have, once," said Violeta. She then shuddered and felt her stomach twist slightly.

"But most of them were hideous in appearance, honestly," she mumbled, repulsively, "Especially Cicatriz. Those bats have scarred gashes cross-crossing their fur and some of them have tattered wings. Cicatriz especially bears quite a few scars, especially on his face and he is blind in his right eye."

"Eeek," spat Ceres in revulsion, "Is… is that from fighting birds?"

"Yes," said Hugo, "Those bats despise us birds and see us as vermin. Why, we don't know but fights between those bats and birds are very common. They also get those scars from the attacks they participate in when driving out a bird tribe or clan."

"Not to mention damaged wing membranes," said Violeta, "When those bats had driven out the red-fronted macaw clan, many of the invaders had suffered damage to their wing membranes but it's always been a thing with the colony, driving out bird flocks and any other bird living on the territory owned by that bird flock and taking over their emptied land, as far as we know, anyway."

Ceres and Cobalto shuddered but then proceeded to bed.

"As for the glaucous macaw tribe, we haven't heard or seen any sign of them since the bats' attack and invasion of their land and brutal driving of them out, anyway," said Hugo.

"Apart from Lapis Lazuli which you have told us," said Violeta to Ceres and Cobalto, "Which we were surprised to hear."

She then made a sad face and said, "Those poor glaucous macaws… they were such rare birds, they were much like the Spix macaws are."

"Well if Lapis Lazuli had survived," said Hugo, "Then that makes her the last surviving glaucous macaw alongside her mate and four chicks."

"Well at least she is with another of her species," said Violeta, "But the chances of Lapis and her family finding other glaucous macaws like themselves are pretty slim. There's no way the glaucous macaw tribe could have survived the flying foxes' invasion."

"Well, our human friends have found one piece of evidence hinting at the possibility of some glaucous macaws still surviving," said Cobalto, "If it is a whole flock, they will need protecting right away."

Hugo then looked outside and said, "Well, I think it's time for me to head out and meet my fellow patrollers. It's getting late and they will be wondering where I am, so I'll see you both in the morning. Goodnight, Ceres and Cobalto."

And with that, he spread his wings and flew away.

"Goodnight, Hugo," shouted Cobalto but Hugo was already out of earshot. Then Violeta prepared to leave.

"Well, I'd better be off as well," she said, "My mate Demetrio will have tucked our two sons Arlo and Vincente to bed by now and he'll be waiting for me to turn up, so I'll see you both in the morning too. Goodnight, you both."

And with that, Violeta opened her enormous wings and took off.

"Goodnight, Violeta and thank you," shouted Ceres as the purple tinted hyacinth macaw disappeared into the dark neighbourhood in the direction of her and Demetrio's tree. Ceres and Cobalto then walked into their sleeping chamber and prepared to settle down for their first night in the Amazon.

"Boy, it's been a busy day, eh, my dear Cobalto?" asked Ceres lovingly.

"Is sure has, my sweetheart Ceres," crooned Cobalto. As the two blue-throated macaws settled in their nest, Cobalto continued, "And tomorrow is another day."

He then nuzzled his head lovingly against Ceres's cheek. She then rubbed Cobalto's forehead with hers and crooned. Suddenly, a young male chick's voice sounded.

"Aaarrgh, help me! I'm being chased by a snake!" it screamed. Cobalto and Ceres stopped nuzzling and looked in the direction of their sons' room.

"That was Azul," said Cobalto, "Sounds like he's having a nightmare."

And with that, he quickly left the nest and disappeared into the main hall and into Azul and his brothers' room to wake Azul up from his nightmare and calm him down. Ceres sighed and said, "I hope we don't have nightmares about those flying foxes. I know Lapis Lazuli is sometimes plagued by them…"

In the green macaw tribe's home, Esmeralda and Uranus had just settled down for the night in their new tree. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon were already asleep. Uranus slept in his nest with Esmeralda by his side and a wing draped over her back when he heard someone talking outside. At this, he opened his eyes and looked outside through the hollow's entrance. Then curiosity bubbled within him. Glancing down to the sleeping Esmeralda who murmured something in her sleep, Uranus carefully left the nest to avoid waking her up and crept towards the outside of the hollow. He then peered outside and traced the voices to their sources: two shadowy macaw-shaped figures flying in the darkness. To his surprise, he recognised them as Alonso and Verde, the leaders of the green tribe.

"What are those two still doing up?" he asked himself in as low voice. He then cupped his ear to listen. At first the words sounded too garbled for Uranus to pick out for Alonso and Verde were too distant but as the two approached his tree, the words became clearer for Uranus to understand.

"Haven't I told you that Valentino has a newbie in his tribe, Verde?" asked Alonso's voice, "Apparently, it was by the name of Murphy or something like that."

"'Murphy'?" mouthed Uranus curiously without making a sound.

"Well, I'm not surprised, my dear," said Verde's voice in reply to Alonso's, "But don't dwell on it. It's not important."

"I wonder where that Murphy is from," said Alonso voice curiously, before changing his tune as he focussed on something else. "Anyway, I'm going to send out the night patrol to examine the border and strip of unowned land bordering the flying fox colony's territory to make sure that those bats aren't up to mischief. I'm looking forward to a good report as always."

"Okay, I'll see you when you return to our nest," said Verde and with that, Alonso's shape parted from Verde's as the latter flew away. Uranus raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"'Murphy'?" he repeated in a low voice. However, Uranus soon shrugged it off as unimportant and returned to the nest with Esmeralda who was still asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15-** **a problem for Pluto and Lapis Lazuli regarding the glaucous macaw tribe**

Soon it was night time and pretty much all the diurnal (day time active) animals had gone to sleep, as had the humans still roaming the macaw tribe and clans' territories. In the glaucous macaws' makeshift 'home', all the glaucous macaws except for a few were sound asleep in their nests and in a few hollows. One glaucous macaw stood on a tree overlooking the sleeping glaucous tribe. Rudi's eyes slowly raked the sleeping forms of the macaws as they slept in their nests and hollows.

"Don't worry, my tribe," said the glaucous patriarch in a low and sympathetic voice, "We'll find someplace to move in and call our home one day. Hopefully our days as nomadic macaws will soon be over."

Sighing, Rudi returned to his temporary tree where his mate Valeria and his two sons Alberto and Lorenzo who were asleep in the tree. The air hanging over the sleeping glaucous macaws was calm and the sky was partly cloudy. The moon was nothing more than a thin strip of silver in the sky against a sea of glitter formed by the stars against a black canvas. The dark leaves of the trees rustled slightly as a gentle breeze blew threw them. Most of the glaucous macaws were sound asleep but a few were keeping watch for any predators. Each night, a group of watch-birds were stationed around the tribe to keep watch for any danger and if any danger was spotted, they would go and warn Rudi and Valeria and evacuate the tribe. Since they had been forced to abandon their home when the flying foxes had attacked, the glaucous macaw tribe had lived like this and Rudi had stationed a group of macaws each night to keep watch for any danger that should come during the night from then up until now, with a turnover of macaws to replace the tired ones who needed rest. While the watchers were keeping an eye on the night time jungle, in one hollow, a certain glaucous macaw was restless in her sleep. In Pluto and his family's temporary hollow, Lapis Lazuli was writhing slightly under Pluto's wing. Pluto was asleep and was not moving much. Before Pluto and Lapis Lazuli went to bed, they had finally managed to finish building the nest and Travis had flown back to the Lear's macaws' territory to join Sunset and his three chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa. In the other rooms, Quincy, Charon, Flor and Blueberry (also in constructed nests) were also asleep. The entire family but Lapis Lazuli were relatively still apart from their chests which moved as they breathed. Lapis Lazuli's breathing, meanwhile, was slightly out of control as though she was panicking, and she continued fidgeting under the calm Pluto's wing. The rich blue glaucous macaw was dreaming.

In her dream, Lapis Lazuli was flying through the jungle. The trees and other plants were blurry as though they had been smudged like on a picture Lapis Lazuli had seen that humans called a painting. The blurred leaves were wavering wildly and there was a violent breeze. Lapis Lazuli was in a panic, her blue eyes flooded with fear and her grey and rich blue feathers on end. She was flapping madly through the jungle as maniacal laughter was heard. However, it wasn't just one voice that laughed, but many. Lapis Lazuli looked back and then around as she beat her wings furiously through the swishing blurred jungle. From every corner of the jungle Lapis Lazuli flew through, evil laughter erupted, piercing Lapis Lazuli's heart and flooding it with fear while at the same time sending impulses of fear coursing through Lapis Lazuli's spine and skin. Fear-struck, Lapis Lazuli accelerated on, breathing uncontrollably and flapping madly. She looked around to find the sources of the wicked laughter but could not find them in the blurry jungle. As she continued flying on, several shadowy figures emerged from one of the blurry trees. They were flying creatures but they did not have feathered wings or a beak and talons. The black shadow figures, marked by glowing eyes filled with malice and scorn accompanied with a wicked grin, then flew out of the tree and pursued Lapis Lazuli. The terrified blue glaucous macaw looked back and when she saw the figures piercing her with their malice filled eyes, she screamed and accelerated all the more. Suddenly, more shadowy figures emerged from the trees in front of her, stopping Lapis Lazuli in her tracks. The terrified glaucous macaw slowed immediately to a hover and gazed with intense fright-filled eyes at the shadowy figures as they surrounded her completely. These figures were certainly not birds. On their head areas were two pointy ears, like that of certain breeds of dog Lapis Lazuli had seen during her and her friends' time in Rio, such as a husky or a German shepherd. The creatures' wings were shaped like a human object called an umbrella and their feet were clawed but not in the same manner as a bird's. The creatures' heads were each decorated with a terrifying pair of glowing eyes and a wicked toothy grin. Laughter was emitting from the creatures' throats and their heads bobbed slightly with each 'hah' sound. Lapis Lazuli widened her eyes and opened her beak in utter horror as one of the creatures began to speak.

"Look, flying foxes," shouted one of the creatures sadistically, "It's one of the glaucous macaws that had managed to escape."

"Let's get it and kill it," said another. And with that, the umbrella shaped winged creatures began to close in on the hapless macaw as she began to scream. Then suddenly, a familiar voice penetrated the atmosphere, shouting her name.

"Lapis Lazuli," it cried frantically, "Lapis Lazuli, wake up!"

Back in the real world, Lapis Lazuli felt her body get shaken by a pair of wings.

"Lapis Lazuli," shouted the voice, which belonged to Pluto. At this, Lapis Lazuli opened one eye and found herself gazing into the worried and concerned sandy brown eyes of Pluto. Pluto held her in his wings and had shaken her awake. It took the frightened female glaucous macaw whose feather colour was the shade of her namesake gemstone to register her whereabouts until she finally relaxed with relief. Then she looked around, confused. It was a wonder that none of the chicks were disturbed by their mother's groaning during her nightmare.

"Where in the world am I?" Lapis Lazuli murmured.

"You were writhing in your sleep beside me and whimpering," explained Pluto, "which indicated you were in a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?"

Lapis Lazuli looked at her mate with eyes still filled with shock from the nightmare she had just had.

"It was an _awful_ dream," she murmured timidly, "I was being chased by these… shadowy figures with wings shaped like that human thing called an umbrella…"

"Umbrella like wings?" asked Pluto. Then he realised what creature Lapis Lazuli was talking about.

"Oh, flying foxes?" he said, "It must have something to do with your being chased by those bats when you were younger, wasn't it?"

Lapis Lazuli, with a sad look and a tear falling from her eye, nodded. She then looked outside at the sleeping glaucous macaws.

"Our tribe cannot live like this any longer, Pluto," Lapis Lazuli whispered, "They are vulnerable and open to a variety of threats such as logging and poaching and they are in a spot well hidden from those bird ecologists. They managed to escape being completely massacred by those bats once. I don't want them facing that threat again."

"Can't we see about that tomorrow?" asked Pluto. Lapis Lazuli shot him a worried glare.

"We're going to have to talk about this with Rudi and Valeria tomorrow," she said firmly, "And see if we could come up with a solution."

Pluto looked at her and then nodded. Then the pair went back to sleep.

The next day finally came in the Amazon and the sun rose into the sky to greet the morning. The sunrise decorated the eastern sky with various shades of yellows and pinks, giving it a beautiful and elaborate appearance. Diurnal animals in every level of the rainforest, from the treetops down to the forest floor were getting up to start their daily activities while the bird ecologist groups including Susan and Lucy's were waking up to continue their search for the Lear's macaws and including their habitat into the recently set up Amazon sanctuary which was currently unnamed. In the Spix macaws' territory, Venus was flying through the Spix tribe's trees hauling a selection of fruit back to her tree for her family. She had woken up just before sunrise to have an early foraging trip. Before sunrise was also Eduardo and a number of the other tribe members' time to wake up, and most of the tribe also rose shortly after these early birds. As Venus entered the ravine with her selection of fruit in a bag constructed from tough sticks and leaves in her talons, she was greeted by a few blue forms flying from a few of the trees. She looked around and picked out Eduardo and then Jewel as the two flew past some trees. However, Venus did not know that Blu was not an early riser and that he often slept in until very late in the day. Venus continued flying in the direction of her family's tree and touched down outside the hollow. As she was about to enter the tree with her fruit bag, she was greeted by a hug and kiss from Zephyr.

"Morning, my precious star flower," crooned the male Spix macaw after he broke the kiss with Venus. Venus smiled and picked up the fruit bag.

"I've got breakfast," she said with a smile. Zephyr smiled and allowed her into the tree.

"Kids, breakfast time," called Venus to the six chicks. Soon the tree was filled with the sounds of tiny flapping wings and squeals of excitement as Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil fluttered down from their four rooms and gathered around Venus. Venus then picked up a mango, chopped it up with her beak and distributed the pieces to her chicks who began eating. Zephyr looked on proudly.

"You know I'm very impressed with how quickly you have adapted to the wild despite spending the first fifteen years as a human's pet, my pretty star flower," he said, "Looks like our idea of living in the forest rather than in a manmade birdhouse has really paid off."

"Living in the wild seems to suit me well even though I'm not keen on a few creepy-crawlies like spiders," said Venus as she picked up a fig from the bag to give to Zephyr. As Zephyr took the fig and ate it, there was a knock outside the tree.

"Come," said Zephyr. At this, an azure blue macaw with a blue-white head came in. Zephyr smiled and walked over to him.

"Hi, cousin Nuvem," he said as he hugged his cousin.

"Morning, Zephyr," said Nuvem as he broke the hug with Zephyr, "Sleep well?"

"We sure did," said Zephyr.

"So did I," said Nuvem. He then looked at Venus as she looked over Justin and his three siblings as they continued eating the mango.

"I've come here to let you know that Dad wants to take your four chicks out on a tour of the area," said Nuvem, "And also give them a few lessons on specific fruit. Also, I would like to take them out on a tour with the other chicks including Carla, Bia and Tiago and introduce them to more of our area and perhaps our neighbours, so as soon as they have had their breakfast and are ready…"

As he said this, Charlotte finished her mango piece and ate a few berries Venus had also picked. Then she excitedly skittered over to Nuvem and said, "I'm ready, cousin Nuvem."

Seconds later, Matilda skittered over and stood by Charlotte.

"Me too," she said. Then Justin and Virgil hurried over to Nuvem, Virgil still eating his piece of mango.

"Okay, okay, don't cause a little accident, you lot," said Zephyr. Then his green eyes landed on the piece of mango in Virgil's wings.

"Oh, Virgil, son," he said with a smile, "You're still eating. Can you finish your mango first please before meeting Nuvem?"

Virgil, at this, looked at Zephyr and walked back to where he was to finish eating his mango. Then he walked over to Nuvem and joined his brother and two sisters. Venus breathed a sigh.

"Tell you something, raising four chicks is not easy, I can tell you," she said.

"Tell me about it," said Zephyr, "As much as a pleasure parenthood is, the first few weeks of our chicks' lives was absolutely riddled with hurdles. Sometimes we had to be up for much of the night to get our baby chicks to sleep and had to sleep in to rest ourselves."

He then breathed and continued, "It's a good job we had Brisa with us as well as our non-Spix friends to help out. But poor Saturn and Orquidea, due to their brood being twice the size of Blu and Jewel's, have had to deal with an even heavier burden when their chicks were very young. They actually had a lot of help from the others in raising those chicks."

"When I saw how big their brood was before they left to join Soleado's tribe, I was surprised," said Nuvem as he looked at Justin, Charlotte and Matilda while he still waited for Virgil to finish his mango, "Like we've said before, it is very rare for macaws to have such big broods."

"I remember reading on the internet about a couple of barn owls having an enormous brood of seven chicks in a breeding box when I lived back in London," said Venus. This was met by the confused looks on Zephyr and Nuvem's faces. However, Zephyr actually understood what Venus was talking about.

"What's a barn owl?" asked Nuvem confused.

"Oh, it's a species of owl native to England," said Venus, "And they sometimes live in a human's farm construction called a barn."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you showing me a picture of one of those owls when we lived in Rio on Susan's laptop during your tour of the animals native to the UK," said Zephyr, "Interesting, really. We never have birds like those over here in Brazil."

As he finished saying this, Virgil had finally downed the last piece of mango. As soon as he had done this, he skittered over to Nuvem and his three older siblings.

"Okay, I'm ready," he said. Nuvem smiled as all four chicks were prepared to leave with their first-cousin- once-removed.

"Alright then, are we ready?" asked Nuvem.

"Yeah," cheered Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil excitedly and in unison.

"Then let's meet the other chicks for the tour," said Nuvem. Just before the four chicks left with Nuvem, Zephyr and Venus hugged and kissed each of the chicks on the head.

"You lot have a great time," said Zephyr as he broke the hug with Justin and Charlotte, "Let us know how it goes, okay?"

"Be good," said Venus as she released Virgil and Matilda, "And make sure you stay with your group. You could get lost even on the Spix tribe's territory, so be careful, and look out for each other and your friends."

"We will, Mom," said Justin.

"See you, Mom and Dad," said Charlotte. Matilda and Virgil also said the same thing and as soon as they were ready, the four chicks followed Nuvem out of the tree.

"We'll see you guys this afternoon or perhaps earlier if you decide to go out into the territory," shouted Nuvem as he left with the four chicks.

"Okay, see you, cousin," shouted Zephyr as Nuvem flew out of earshot across the ravine, the four chicks in tow.

"And today is the first day of our chicks' lesson in surviving in the Amazon," said Zephyr with a smile. Venus sighed before moving on to pack the rest of the fruit she had gathered into a storage compartment just near her and Zephyr's sleeping spot for later meals in the day. A few hours later, it was midmorning. The sun overhead was half-way between the horizon and the midday point. It beamed down its golden rays onto the Amazon and the animals' activities were at their peak in the morning. The Spix macaw tribe was by now all up to its usual business. However, there was one macaw who was yet to get up despite it being midmorning. While the blue forms of the Spix macaws continued decorating the air of the ravine as Spix macaws went to and from different destinations, Venus was flying back after a tour of the Spix macaws' territory with Eduardo. It would be a long while until she knew where everything was on the territory for she was completely new to the Spix macaw tribe and an outsider much like Blu. As Venus entered the ravine and relished the clean air filled with the fresh smell of flowers and fresh plants, she almost bumped into a light blue plump female macaw but had managed to stop herself in time.

"Oh, sorry, Mimi," said Venus apologetically when she saw who she almost collided with.

"It's okay, um… Venus isn't it?" asked Mimi with a slight confused look on her face. Venus nodded to confirm that that was the correct name.

"So, how did your tour of the area with my younger brother go?" asked Mimi.

"Oh, fine thanks, ma'am," said Venus. Then she looked at Mimi with surprise.

"Wait, did you just call Eduardo your younger brother?" she asked.

"Eduardo and I are brother and sister," said Mimi as she and Venus progressed further into the ravine, "Born in a clutch of three. I'm the oldest of the brood and Eduardo is the second oldest."

"Who was the other sibling?" asked Venus.

"Our younger sister was called Lea but she died when we were young adults," said Mimi, "She was killed when she accidentally strayed into flying fox territory."

Venus flinched when she heard this. "So those flying foxes have been your enemies even when you were young?"

Mimi gave her a dark look.

"Those membrane-winged furballs have always been every Amazonian bird's sworn enemies for generations," she said, "Always after land owned by bird tribes and clans and driving out their inhabitants to grab it. They also have a burning hatred for us birds and see us as nothing more than vermin."

"I also heard that Eduardo was almost attacked by those bats at some point," said Venus.

"Oh, yeah that was when he was on an outing with some of the green macaws when my little wildflower Jewel was a chick," said Mimi, "Thankfully Eduardo managed to return unscathed but it had left him quite shaken. Unfortunately, three of the green macaws that accompanied him weren't as fortunate and had been badly injured with one of them passing away. They're barbaric, those bats, and they're still as barbaric as they were back then, especially with that psychotic oldest son of Bruto and Sombra, Cicatriz and his equally psychotic mate Iracebeth as leaders of the colony now."

Venus shuddered but then Mimi moved onto something else.

"Oh, have you tried clay yet?" she asked as she saw a few blue forms on the clay licks of the ravine pool.

"Clay?" asked Venus.

"Yes," said Mimi, "It's good for digestion, useful in neutralising the acidic juices released from the fruit that we eat."

"I remember trying some clay back in Tujica Forest outside Rio but I must tell you, it didn't taste very nice," said Venus slightly repulsively.

"Well, it's beneficial despite the foul taste," said Mimi, "You should ingest some. It's good for dealing with stomach upsets resulting from the acidic juices from the fruit."

Venus then looked at the clay and made up her mind, but reluctantly.

"I'll give it a try," she said and with that, she broke away from Mimi and made a beeline for the clay lick.

"Be prepared to make it a regular part of your survival skills, young lady," called Mimi, "It's all part of adapting to the wild."

Venus then touched down and walked over to the edge of the ravine pool lapping against the clay licks. As she approached the pool's edge, she looked at three blue macaws talking away and ingesting clay. Tipping her head to one side and then looking down at the clay before her talons, Venus scooped up a ball of the stuff with one talon. She then stared at the grey and brown gloop in her foot. Then closing her eyes, Venus opened her beak and snapped it back shut to bite into the clay. The moment her tongue came into contact with the grey and brown material, Venus made a repulsed face as an almost irresistible urge to spit it out swamped her. Barely resisting the urge, Venus swallowed the lump with difficulty. After the lump disappeared down her throat, Venus clapped her beak and tongue, the aftertaste of the clay still in her mouth.

"Ugh, I may be used to getting out of traps, building a nest and foraging for food in the wild," muttered the pigtailed macaw to herself as she glared at the lump of clay in her talon, now with a large chunk taken out of it where she had bitten into it, "But eating clay, that's as bad as coating myself in mud…"

Just then, a voice called out from behind her, making Venus turn in the direction of the voice's owner. Brisa and Roberto had flown in.

"Venus," said Brisa, "Have you seen Blu anywhere? He's supposed to be having another training session with his father-in-law Eduardo."

She then saw the lump of clay in Venus's talon.

"Ah, you've been trying some clay?" she asked delighted, "That's brilliant."

"Yeah, it's an essential part of helping us to digest our food," said Roberto. Venus then thought over Brisa's question regarding Blu.

"Maybe he's still in his and Jewel's tree?" she replied. Venus then frowned.

"Come to think of it," she murmured to herself, "He should be up by now. It's past midmorning."

Brisa and Roberto, at this, looked at each other.

"Don't tell me he's still asleep in his tree, isn't he?" asked Brisa with a frown.

"This is the umpteenth time since he's moved in with our tribe except for the one morning where he went to get a Brazil nut for Ju-Ju but accidentally strayed into Felipe's side," muttered Roberto with a frown. Venus, at this, dropped the clay piece in shock and turned around to look at the pair.

"Don't tell me he's still asleep, isn't he?" she muttered. This was met with an agreeing look from Brisa and Roberto's faces as they assumed that this statement was true. However, it was as Blu was indeed asleep in his and Jewel's tree. In fact, he was sound asleep and snoring his head off. In Blu and Jewel's tree, Blu was fast asleep in his and Jewel's sleeping compartment. Shortly after the Amazon Untamed celebrations, Eduardo had helped Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago to find a tree of their own and the tree the family had chosen was a four bedroomed tree. Blu and Jewel slept in the ground floor compartment while their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago slept in the other three rooms up the hollow. Carla's was the topmost, Bia's was second topmost and Tiago's was the third topmost. But even after moving into a tree of his and his family's own from Roberto's tree, Blu had sunk back into the habit of getting up late. Blu was on his back, snoring away. However, he was in for a nasty surprise. As the brown-eyed Spix macaw continued snoring, something descended from above his face and approached his cheek. As the thing closed in on his cheek, three appendages wiggled over Blu's cheek, tickling him. Blu laughed in his sleep as the three appendages ran over his cheek but then he went back to sleep as the thing rose above him an inch. The thing was a furry creature with a segmented body and eight legs and it was suspended on a string of silk. However, the arachnid wasn't suspended by itself over Blu's face. The spider's silk was stuck to a twig held by a slender blue male chick with brown eyes standing from the entrance to his room, but he wasn't alone. With him was another chick, an electric blue female with pigtails and who bore a striking resemblance to Venus but had Zephyr's green eyes and she had her talon on the stick held by the male chick. Both chicks wore mischievous looks on their faces as they gleefully manipulated the spider's position over the sleeping Blu's face. Tiago then daintily lowered the spider carefully over his dad's face again and has the spider tickle Blu's face with its legs. Matilda smiled widely as she watched the spider do this. Blu giggled again as he felt something tickle his face a second time.

"Hah, hah, hah," he tittered, "Stop it, Jewel, that tickles!"

He then opened his eyes to see who was tickling him but that was when the real shock took hold. As soon as Blu had opened his eyes, he found himself gazing face to face with an enormous furry thing with long hairy legs and four grotesque berry-like balls gazing at him… right in his face! An ear-piercing scream erupted from Blu and Jewel's tree as the male brown-eyed Spix macaw screeched in utter terror. Blu then sat bolt upright and swatted the spider away in the direction of the hollow entrance, frightened. He then glared at the arachnid as it crept away from the rim of the entrance and to outside, his brown eyes wide and blue feathers on end.

"Where in the world did that come from?" he asked. The moment the word 'from' escaped his beak, two mini comets, one dark blue and one electric blue, shot in from above and flew around him.

"Wha- Tiago, Matilda!?" shouted Blu angrily as the two young chicks gleefully flew around him with laughter escaping their beaks.

"Nice one, Tiago," squeaked Matilda as she made a beeline for the hollow's entrance to make her escape.

"Yeah, that one really scared Dad awake," laughed Tiago as he followed Matilda to outside. Blu opened his wings to chase after the two young chicks but changed his mind. Settling down, he let loose a yawn and then turned to his fanny pack. After fumbling through the belt bag and removing a cup, Blu prepared to make his way to outside. However, he was greeted by three macaws.

"Oh, hi, Roberto, Brisa and Venus," said Blu sheepishly, "Sleep well?"

"Ah, Blu, you're awake at last," muttered a very bemused Brisa.

"At last?" asked Blu confused, "Is it morning?"

"Morning?" snapped Venus in shock, "It's after _midmorning_."

"Yeah, it's almost lunch time," said Brisa. Roberto just looked on with an expressionless face and said nothing. Blu then glared at Venus.

"I have a bone to pick with you, pigtails," he muttered.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Venus rhetorically asked. Just then Carla, Bia, Justin, Charlotte and Virgil appeared.

"Hey, Uncle Beto, Aunt Venus," said Carla, "That outing with Mr Nuvem was great."

"Yeah," said Virgil in agreement. Then Bia looked at Blu in surprise.

"Dad?" she asked. Justin, Carla, Virgil and Charlotte also gave Blu a surprised look. Venus smiled and gently pushed the five chicks aside. Behind the group, Tiago and Matilda peered out from behind a fern.

"I was scared awake by a spider," muttered Blu. At this, Brisa folded her wings and made an amused look.

"Oh, really?" she said with slitted eyes, "Your son Tiago playing that spider prank on you again?"

Venus and Roberto just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Yeah, but he wasn't alone," said Blu. He then shot Venus a glare and said, "Venus's daughter Matilda was with him and participated in the prank."

Venus, at this, changed her confused expression to one of surprise.

"Are you meaning to say that Matilda played the spider prank on you with Tiago?" she asked. Blu nodded hard. At this, Carla, Bia, Virgil, Justin and Charlotte looked at each other.

"By my calculations," said Bia, "It's been the third time Dad was scared awake by a spider held by my little brother now."

"Yeah but only this time, our sister Matilda got involved," muttered Justin. At this, Charlotte looked behind but saw nothing as Tiago and Matilda ducked back behind the fern the moment she turned round. Then Brisa said, "Well, it's time you were up, Blu. Eduardo is waiting for you by the waterfall. It's time for your next session of jungle survival training."

Blu, at this, rolled his eyes with reluctance and trudged out of the tree, dropping the cup on the go. Venus, Roberto and Brisa parted to allow him out. As he passed Venus, Blu gave her the stink eye.

"And Venus, can you discipline your daughter please?" he asked, "I don't want her playing that spider trick on me again. As for Tiago, leave him to me."

And with that, Blu opened his wings and flew off, leaving Venus, Brisa and Roberto to stand there with surprised looks on their faces.

Back in the area where the glaucous macaws had taken refuge, dozens and dozens of turquoise and sea green birds with grey heads and necks and yellow facial features were up to their usual business. Parents were foraging for food to feed their chicks and the other macaws were checking on each other to make sure that they were fine. While the surrounding glaucous macaws were up to their activities, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Quincy, Flor and Charon were eating a pineapple lunch on a large branch in a tree. Lapis Lazuli still looked very disturbed after that nightmare last night and she wore a worried look on her face as she examined her tribe-mates, her friends whom she was separated from by the flying foxes four years after the fire. Not too far away, Rudi and Valeria were talking to a group of patrollers in another tree. Pluto also looked in Rudi's direction.

"Looks like your cousin's about to send out another patrol group, Lapis," he said as he munched on a piece of pineapple. Lapis Lazuli didn't reply and continued gazing at her cousin and cousin-in-law as they continued talking with the patrol group.

"I'm afraid we cannot find any decent place to settle down and call home, Rudi," said one of the patrol macaws, a male, "We've searched and searched for months now but we couldn't find a spot."

"We daren't risk flying into the flying foxes' territory in case those bats might spot us and kill us," added another macaw of the group, a female, "And that's the last thing we need."

"Have you tried south?" asked Rudi. The patrol group nodded.

"It's no good, Rudi," said the first patroller, "There just isn't a suitable spot to settle down. We did spot a cluster of trees with hollows several times but either that cluster is not big enough to house the entire tribe or another bird tribe or clan already lives there…"

"We'll just have to keep trying," said Rudi with a disappointed sigh. He then turned to another group of macaws sat in another branch diagonally from the patrol group, unaware that Lapis Lazuli was watching him.

"Report on the activities of the loggers, Rodrigo," said Rudi. Then the macaw named Rodrigo stepped forward. When Lapis Lazuli's eyes landed on this macaw, shock and disgust exploded within her and she made a sour face as she gazed at the macaw. Her feathers then stood on end and she began to tremble. Pluto came over to her.

"Lapis, what is it?" he asked. When he saw Lapis Lazuli shake, he was alarmed.

"Lapis, you're trembling!" he said. Lapis Lazuli looked back at him with a disgusted frown.

"I'm fine, Pluto, I'm not cold but the reason why I'm trembling is because I've spotted Rodrigo down there," she said, "He's the macaw who I told you about abandoned me when we were chased by the flying foxes when we were adolescents."

Pluto, at this, turned his eyes and scanned Rodrigo as he continued talking with Rudi. Rodrigo was a fairly well built male macaw. His feathers were turquoise with no teal tint and his head and neck feathers were a light grey. A rather messy ruffle of feathers emanated from the back of his head and curled inward and his eyes were a shade of green. Then Pluto and Lapis Lazuli saw Rodrigo shake his head and then ask something to Rudi. Pluto cupped his ear to listen.

"Oh, where is Lapis Lazuli? Is she around here?" asked Rodrigo hopefully, "I was meant to come and greet her yesterday but was too distracted by a group of chicks I was teaching and completely forgot."

Lapis Lazuli then glared fiercely and bitterly at the turquoise and grey bird as a flashback appeared in her mind. In the flashback Lapis Lazuli saw a group of massive flying furred creatures towering over her and cackling maniacally. When she turned in one direction, she saw Rodrigo hovering there with none of the furry creatures holding him, eyes filled with flight before fleeing. Back to present, Lapis Lazuli felt disgust and dislike bubble within her. Then suddenly, Valeria pointed in Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's direction.

"She's over there," said the matriarch of the glaucous macaw tribe. However, the moment Rodrigo started flying in the pair's direction, Lapis Lazuli whipped round and stormed off, clearly not wanting to meet Rodrigo. Moments after the rich blue and grey macaw had disappeared; Rodrigo appeared and perched beside Pluto, a surprised look on his face. Near Pluto, Blueberry, Flor, Quincy and Charon looked on in curiosity as they continued eating their pineapple. Then Rodrigo looked at Pluto and asked, "Have you seen Lapis Lazuli, pal?"

Pluto, at this, looked back confused.

"W-w-why do you want to see her?" he asked hesitantly. An irritated 'tut' escaped from Rodrigo's beak.

"I haven't seen Lapis Lazuli since we were adolescents and that flying fox incident," snapped the fairly well built macaw irritably, "I would like to see her. Is she alright? Oh, and my name's Rodrigo, by the way."

Pluto then looked around for Lapis Lazuli, unaware that she had flown into a cluster of leaves and vines. From this green hiding spot, the sour-faced macaw glared at Rodrigo with tears spilling down her cheeks as he continued asking Pluto where she was.

"You see," added Rodrigo, "When Lapis Lazuli and I had been separated from the other glaucous macaws during the violent siege by those bats, I was unable to save Lapis from a group of those flying furballs for those bats were too powerful..."

Pluto, at this, said nothing at first. He then looked around for Lapis Lazuli but when his eyes couldn't find her, he turned back to Rodrigo.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think she's in the mood to see you at the moment," said Pluto, "Can't it wait until she's ready to meet you?"

This was met with a disappointed look from Rodrigo.

"I was one of her closest friends when we were young," he said, "In fact we were a couple: boyfriend and girlfriend and we were on our way to becoming mates had we kept that relationship up. Lapis Lazuli and I were very much in love back then. However, that had been cut short when I was unable to save Lapis Lazuli from those bats."

Pluto, at first, glared at Rodrigo but then a frown crept onto his face. Then Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy walked in. Rodrigo then took notice of the four chicks just as Rudi landed next to Pluto. Valeria was left to continue talking with the patrollers. Rudi had a disappointed look on his face.

"What is it, Rudi?" asked Rodrigo.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell you this, Rodrigo," said Rudi sadly, "If you're thinking about rekindling your relationship with Lapis Lazuli, I'm afraid it's not going to happen."

"Why?" asked Rodrigo as he felt a wave of disappointment splashed over him. Rudi looked at Pluto and then at the four chicks standing near him. From her hiding spot, Lapis Lazuli continued watching.

"Lapis Lazuli already has a mate and four chicks," said Rudi sadly. And with that, he nodded to Pluto to clarify his statement. Rodrigo glared at Pluto in disbelief.

"I'm really sorry but when Lapis Lazuli turned up yesterday," explained Rudi, "She had this guy and those four chicks with her, which clearly indicated that she is already coupled with a family."

Rodrigo's face then fell into a further look of disappointment.

"But… I wanted to be Lapis Lazuli's future mate," he muttered, "But… how did she find a glaucous macaw outside the tribe when the chances of finding another glaucous macaw not originally one of us are extremely slim due to our rarity?"

"I don't know but it is obvious that Lapis Lazuli has met this guy during her time away from us," said Rudi. Pluto just said nothing.

"Well, that's disappointing," muttered Rodrigo. He then looked around for Lapis Lazuli but could not find her.

"And I wanted to apologise for being unable to save her from those bats as well. I'll do that when I find her," said Rodrigo and with that, he turned, opened his wings and took off. Pluto looked on confused.

"Being unable to save her from those bats?" he repeated.

"That's what he told us, Pluto," said Rudi, "Anyway, I'm going to return to the patrol group and help Valeria with discussing our problems with finding a new home for us to settle in while you find Lapis Lazuli."

And with that the glaucous macaw patriarch took off from the perch and returned to Valeria and the patrol groups. The moment Rudi left, Lapis Lazuli flew in and perched beside Pluto, Quincy, Flor, Charon and Blueberry who continued standing there confused. Lapis Lazuli still had a sour look on her face as she glared at Rodrigo as he flew into the trees filled with other glaucous macaws.

"I'm confused," said Pluto to Lapis Lazuli, "That ex-boyfriend of yours told me that he was unable to save you from those bats. Is that true?"

"He just abandoned me to fend for myself when we were chased by those flying foxes, Pluto," growled Lapis Lazuli in reply. Pluto whipped round and asked, "But if you were both pursued by those massive bats too powerful to fight back against, then I'm pretty sure Rodrigo would have tried to rescue you but had been unable to due to so many bats."

Lapis Lazuli, however, replied with a bitter look on her face.

"I-I-I don't understand," said Pluto confused, "You've told me that Rodrigo has just abandoned you to save his own skin and he told me that he was unable to save you due to so many of those powerful bats. I don't know which is true."

"Oh, that idiotic ex-boyfriend of mine is trying to confuse you," snapped Lapis Lazuli angrily, "I've just told you that he just left me to save his own skin, forcing me to escape those flying foxes by myself."

Pluto flinched at his mate's retort before moving to another topic.

"So, are we going to speak to Rudi and Valeria about this macaw tribe being put under the protection from poaching and logging or what?" asked Pluto. Lapis Lazuli then slowly allowed her disgust for Rodrigo and feelings of betrayal to melt away.

"I think it's best if we don't actually," she replied. Pluto, at this, made a surprised face.

"B-b-but they need to know and understand that the tribe is vulnerable out here," he protested.

"Rudi and Valeria do not and will not tolerate us talking about humans, Pluto," replied Lapis Lazuli, "In fact, they're very anti-human and don't trust any human whatsoever and if you tried to convince them that they need to reveal their tribe to any human groups, Rudi would probably kick you out of the tribe and I don't want that."

Lapis Lazuli then looked at Rudi and Valeria as they continued talking with the patrol group.

"Wait until the time's right and then we'll take it from there," said the blue and grey glaucous macaw, "I know how urgent you want Rudi and Valeria to know about their tribe's vulnerability but not at the moment."

"As you wish," sighed Pluto reluctantly. He clearly wanted the glaucous macaws to be discovered by the visiting bird ecologist groups so that they could be included in the wildlife sanctuary set up by Tulio and Linda which was to include the green and Lear's macaw tribes eventually should they be discovered. However, there was one huge boulder in the way, and that was Rudi and Valeria's, as well as the other glaucous macaws', bitter hatred of humans and refusal to have anything to do with them, not to mention Pluto's own secret: his past life as a domesticated macaw. But Pluto knew he would eventually have to tell Rudi and Valeria that their tribe will need to reveal themselves to a group of bird ecologists eventually; they cannot stay out here for ever due to their status as critically endangered and vulnerable and the glaucous macaw is an extremely rare species of macaw.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16- trouble for Mercury**

In the Lear's macaw tribe's ravine, the Lear's macaws were up to their daily activities. Mercury, Sapphire and their daughters Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were having a mixed fruit lunch with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa. While the ten was eating just outside Mercury and his family's hollow in the cliff face, Valentino had been talking with Archie.

"What!?" shouted Valentino in disbelief, "What do you mean Murphy's (that is, Mercury) a former human's pet!?"

"But it's true, Valentino," said Archie, a look of distaste tinting his eyes, "I overheard him talk with Sapphire last night. There is also something else I have heard Sapphire and Murphy mention that you must hear as well but you're not going to like it."

"And what's that?" asked Valentino.

"They said that they hope that our existence would be discovered by humans," said Archie flatly. This was met by an enraged look on Valentino's face.

"That macaw's a spy then," he growled, barely restraining the urge to lose his temper. Valentino then turned round and walked away from Archie.

"I just can't believe that I have trained a macaw who has big ties with those rotten humans to be part of my tribe," he growled. He then turned round and glared at Archie.

"We'd better keep an eye on that macaw then," said Valentino, "And also keep an eye on Sapphire as well. I have a bad feeling that she's been influenced by that former human's pet."

"Rosalind's not going to like this, honestly," said Archie, "I'm going for a flight out to the camu-camu fruit grove to snack on some of those fruit for a bit."

And with that, he turned and left Valentino's hollow via the hole, leaving Valentino to go over what Archie had told him. Back with Mercury and company, Travis was concerned for the glaucous macaws.

"I'm seriously worried about that flock of glaucous macaws we have managed to find," said the sulfur-crested cockatoo as he munched on some berries, "Seeing that flock living out there in a vulnerable spot without a proper habitat to live in is not good."

"Pluto and Lapis Lazuli might need help in convicting that tribe's leaders that they need conservation," said Sunset as she fed Eustace and Rosa a mango piece, "But since none of the macaws around here believe that the glaucous macaw tribe is still alive, it's going to be difficult in getting backup birds for Pluto and Lapis."

"That's true," said Mercury as he ate a dragonfruit. Next to him, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were eating a pineapple.

"We have that same problem with the Lear's tribe and the green macaws," said Sapphire, "Only they have a proper habitat to stay in. but their habitats are open to deforestation by loggers and poachers intruding into their land looking to catch them for the pet trade."

"And since this spot is the only suitable place for a flock of Lear's macaws to live in this part of Brazil," said Sunset, scanning the ravine dotted by dozens of navy blue and teal birds, "Since it has a cliff face where Lear's macaws can nest since they prefer making their nests in cliff face holes rather than trees, it must be added to the sanctuary as soon as possible."

Mercury, Sapphire and Travis nodded in agreement and continued eating their lunch. Just then a flapping of a pair of wings filled their ears followed by the sound of two feet touching down on a rocky surface. At this, Mercury, Sapphire, Travis and Sunset looked up and to their surprise, saw Valentino looking at them.

"Valentino," said Mercury, "What an unexpected surprise. What brings you here?"

"Well, I would like to take you out on a flight through our territory, Murphy," said Valentino, "I want to have a private talk with you."

Mercury, at this, gave a curious look.

"O-okay," he said.

"So as soon as you have had your lunch," said Valentino, "I would like you to meet me at the ravine entrance. Then we'll go out on a flight together through our territory and have that talk."

"Okay, I'll be there," said Mercury and with that, Valentino took off and flew away in the direction of the ravine entrance to wait for Mercury. Sapphire saw him leave.

"A private talk?" she asked.

"Well, whatever it is, it sounds important," said Mercury. Then he returned to eating his lunch. At this moment, Archie was flying through the Lear's macaws' territory in the direction of the camu-camu fruit grove and the Lear's/green border.

"I can't believe that Sapphire has fallen for a macaw that was once a pet," he muttered to himself, "Furthermore, I don't even like the sight of him being with my chick-hood friend…"

Archie then began to plan a way to get rid of Mercury so that he could be with Sapphire. As he continued flying through the trees of the Lear's tribe's turf after a while, the bushes with the small red spherical fruit growing on their branches emerged into view. Archie then slowed his flight speed as he began to fly through the camu-camu fruit grove. However, before he could perch on one of the branches to pick the fruit, he heard several voices emanating from over the green/Lear's border. At this, he turned and saw four green macaws: two male military, a female military and a female great green, talking away. Archie immediately recognised the pair of male military macaws.

"Those pesky twins Lewin and Luis and two of their friends from the green tribe," muttered Archie to himself, "What are they doing at the camu-camu fruit grove?"

Archie then perched behind a large bush and hid behind to watch the three military macaws and great green as they continued talking and eating some camu-camu fruit, unaware of his presence. Lewin and Luis were indeed twin-like for they looked absolutely identical. Like all military macaws, they had green feathers on their heads, upper bodies and parts of their wings. Their wing and tail undersides were yellow and their wing flight feathers, lower backs and parts of their tail feathers were sky blue. Their foreheads and some of their tails were ruby red and both brothers had a sheet of feathers behind their heads, and blue eyes. However, Lewin had aqua blue eyes while Luis had midnight blue eyes, the only distinguishing feature between the two otherwise identical brothers. Both had a stocky build and were the exact same height. Archie then examined the brothers and their two companions as they continued chatting and feasting on camu-camu fruit. Then an idea entered Archie's head, an idea to do away with Mercury. As soon as the idea clicked in his head, Archie made a scheming face. A little while later, Mercury was flying through another part of the Lear's macaws' territory with Valentino. Around them, several other Lear's macaws were flying through the trees.

"So, what's the subject of the talk, Valentino?" asked Mercury as he flew behind Valentino. Valentino replied with a distasteful glare on his face, sending shivers crawling through Mercury's skin. Mercury never liked being looked at with dirty looks or glares. He often found them intimidating and discomforting. Finally, Valentino spoke.

"I've been told that you have some… rather big ties with humans, Murphy," said Valentino suspiciously. Mercury, at this, shot the tribe patriarch a surprised look.

"How did you know that I have some connection with humans?" he asked. Valentino was about to answer when he heard a loud buzzing noise. At this, he looked around alarmed. Mercury did the same until his eyes spotted something hovering in the air. Valentino's eyes also landed on the thing and the moment they did, he immediately dived into a nearby cluster of leaves in the nearest tree. Mercury followed as Valentino looked out. He knew that the buzzing noise was not from an insect as no insect made a buzzing noise as loud as that, but the thing that made the buzzing noise was not a flying creature.

"What in the world," murmured Valentino as he examined whatever it was hovered that hovered in the air. Mercury, however, recognised the thing. Hovering in the air above some trees was a shiny black object. It had three arms spanning out from the centre arranged like a three pointed star and on the end of the arms was a spinning thing Mercury recognised as propellers. Attached to the centre of the thing was an object with an eye on it but this eye was not like any eye Valentino had ever seen. The three-armed object was hovering gently in the air, turning around as the artificial eye scanned the environment. Several metres away, some Lear's macaws flew by but did not notice the object. Valentino felt revulsion sweep through him. He did not like the presence of this object at all, and it certainly was a human object. No flying creature used spinning propellers to fly like this object did.

"It's a hovering camera," whispered Mercury in awe, "What a clever device."

Valentino then felt suspicion bubble within him. Abandoning his hiding place, he descended through the canopy. Mercury followed. The two macaws continued their descent through the canopy level until the forest floor emerged into view through the dense green stuff. Mercury managed to dodge a web of vine tendrils when he noticed Valentino perch on a branch behind some more leaves. Then he pushed the leaves aside to look out. Mercury peered over Valentino's shoulder and saw what Valentino saw. It was a group of humans sitting or walking around directly below the flying thing Valentino and Mercury had just seen a minute ago. Four of the humans were sat or knelt on the forest floor while two more were pacing around examining something. The four kneeling or sat humans had a device shaped like a black slab. One of them had some sort of a control pad in his hands and Mercury recognised one of the female humans in the quartet.

"Susan," he whispered as he recognised his former owner. Valentino, however, was glaring angrily at the humans when one of the four humans, the one whom Mercury assumed was controlling the flying camera above the trees, speak.

"I think that's it, you three," he said, "They're definitely Lear's macaws."

"This is definitely the habitat of those Lear's macaws," said Susan, "Brilliant job, Joshua. Your idea of sending up a hovering camera to help find more evidence of those Lear's macaws' existence proved to be a good one."

"Now our next job is to find their main habitat," said another human in the quartet, another woman. Valentino flinched harshly in shock.

"Those sly too-legged menaces," he whispered, "They've managed to find us."

Mercury, however, wore a look of delight. Then a musical sound filled the air. At this, the woman reached into a thing hanging from her shoulder Mercury recognised as a bag and took out another device.

"Hello," she said, "Oh, hi, Francisco…"

Valentino then looked at Mercury and noticed him smiling at the humans.

"What are you smiling about, Murphy?" he growled, snapping Mercury into dropping his smile and looking at him, "Don't you realise how serious this is?"

"Oh, I was just…" began Mercury but found himself hitting a roadblock in his word choice as he saw Valentino narrow his eyes.

"I also heard you mention the word 'Susan' which whatever that is doesn't sound like a name I have heard of," said the tribe patriarch. Mercury blinked,

"Oh, i-i-i-it's just the n-n-n-name of one of those humans down there," he said, "I've known her for so many years and…"

"What do you mean you've known that human for so many years?" growled Valentino, "Don't tell me you're a…"

"Susan, alongside another woman called Lucy and three men called Blake, Jake and Drake," explained Mercury timidly, "took me and a Spix macaw called Venus in when we were chicks and…"

At this, Valentino exploded with shock and anger.

"WHAT!?" he screeched, "YOU'VE LIVED WITH HUMANS AS A PET!?"

Mercury flinched harshly as Valentino screeched these words.

"Y-y-y-y-yes, that's right," the grey-eyed Lear's macaw confessed, "I've lived with those humans in a place called London in a country across the Atlantic Ocean for fifteen years…"

"You lived WHERE!?" shouted Valentino. Then he made a face as confirmation hit him.

"Well, looks like Archie's suspicions about you being a human's pet is confirmed," he growled. Mercury then felt disgust and anger course through him.

"Why are you so angry at me for being a former human's pet, anyway!?" he retorted, "It's not my fault that I have ended up with humans…"

Valentino was about to snap back when he heard the woman's voice say, "Everybody, great news. Francisco and his group have confirmed the existence of the flock of green macaws…"

This pulled Mercury and Valentino's attention back to the human group.

"Oh, no," muttered Valentino, "Don't tell me that Alonso's tribe has also been…"

Then he changed his mind. Not wanting to see the sight of those humans any longer, he abandoned his hiding spot. Mercury quickly followed him.

"Wait for me, Valentino," he called but Valentino shot him a glare.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself for bringing human connections into my tribe, you former human's pet," he shouted, "Not to mention pairing up with Rosalind's first cousin, once removed. When I tell Rosalind this, her reaction's not going to be good. This trip out is over."

And with that, Valentino rocketed through the canopy so fast that Mercury was falling behind.

"Wait up," shouted Mercury as he flapped harder and harder to catch up but Valentino did not answer and continued flying upward at high speed. Then as soon as he was out above the trees, Valentino sped off in the direction of the Lear's macaws' ravine, leaving Mercury behind in the dust as he also emerged out of the trees gasping for air. Then the delayed pain from Valentino's scathing comment finally took hold and Mercury flapped clumsily toward the nearest tree and flopped down onto a branch where he continued panting for breath. Tears welled in his eyes as Valentino's harsh comment echoed in his head, inflicting more pain on his feelings with each bounce. However, under the pain, he felt a small gust of joy that the group of bird ecologists below have managed to confirm the existence of the Lear's macaw tribe. Tears falling from his eyes, Mercury opened his wings and flew off back to the ravine.

In the green tribe's home, Uranus was teaching Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon on how to use their beaks to slice fruit into smaller pieces while Esmeralda was back at their tree tidying the rooms up. While he did this, the six heard the sounds of frustration emitting from a group of macaws in the distance. Miranda looked in the direction of the source and recognised one of the voices.

"Do you hear Mr Alonso, Dad?" she said, "He sounds very cross."

Uranus, at this, followed Miranda's gaze and saw a group of three macaws fly back towards the green tribe's home in a hurry. One of them was Alonso and he did not look very happy at all.

"I wonder what's made him cross," said Uranus. It was then that Alonso began to speak to his two companions as he flew past Uranus and his five chicks' location. The trio was close enough to be heard.

"I don't believe this, you two," Alonso snarled, "Are you saying that those humans have discovered our existence?"

"I'm afraid so, Alonso," said one of the two birds accompanying him, a female military macaw. The other was a male great green macaw.

"We've been examining that group as they appeared to be controlling a three armed flying thing we found hovering above the trees and heard them say that they have found our flock," said the male great green macaw. Uranus, at this, made a surprised look.

"Sounds like one of the bird ecologist groups have found the green macaw tribe," he said in a low voice, "Looks like their territory will be included in Linda and Tulio's sanctuary anytime soon. I hope the Lear's macaws are also discovered…"

"Alright then, Tomas and Rebeca," said Alonso, "Continue keeping a close eye on those humans. I'm going to send word about this to the other green macaws and get prepared for action. I've a feeling those humans are planning on poaching us like always…"

"Poaching!?" repeated Uranus to himself in disbelief, "All those humans were doing was finding the green macaws so that their area can be set up as a conservation zone."

Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon just looked on in curiosity. Then Alonso parted ways with the two macaws.

"Are we still gonna try and help resolve this quarrel between our tribe and the Lear's tribe, Dad?" asked Oberon.

"I don't know, son," said Uranus as he continued gazing after Alonso as he flew off in the direction of the green tribe's home area, "But it will have to be sorted eventually."

Oberon and his sisters just looked on and said nothing.

A while later, back in the Lear's tribe's home ravine, Valentino was voicing his comments about Mercury to Waldo and Rosalind by the stream at the bottom of the ravine.

"That macaw Murphy (that is, Mercury) has big ties with humans, you two," snarled Valentino angrily, "REALLY big ties. Not only has he been living with them but he has also lived as a pet."

"A pet!?" retorted Waldo in shock.

"Are you saying that Sapphire's mate is a former human's pet, dear?" asked Rosalind in disbelief.

"Yes, I am," said Valentino. At this, Rosalind made a very disappointed look and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Rosalind dear but it's true," said Valentino, "Sapphire's mate is a former pet."

Rosalind turned to face Valentino.

"Then that means we have a former pet in a tribe in which every macaw has been born and raised in the natural environment," muttered Rosalind, "Which makes that pet a blot amongst us."

"And I can't believe that Sapphire would have the nerve to pair up and have three daughters with him," added Valentino angrily, "Don't tell me she's been living with humans as well during her time away from us. She should know better than to mix with those pesky two-legged pests."

Waldo, at this, made an appalled look.

"Hey, that's my little half-sister you're talking about," he snapped, "She's old enough to choose which male macaw to be her mate. It's not up to us to dictate her decisions as she's not a chick anymore."

"That may be true, Waldo," said Valentino with a frown, "But that macaw Murphy is a pet with enormous ties to humans, a subject every macaw in this tribe finds absolutely repulsive to talk about especially based on what they do to us and the environment."

Waldo, however, retained his opinion on Mercury adamantly.

"Well, he may have been born here, in this country outside our tribe, and then caught by poachers, smuggled out of this country when he was young and then sold through the pet trade," he said, "After all, how else could he have ended up with humans at some point other than simply enter a city and become a pet deliberately?"

Valentino just glared at him while Rosalind said nothing. While Valentino voiced his opinions and disapproval about Mercury and his domesticated history and Rosalind and Waldo, Mercury voiced his frustration about Valentino's attitude towards him and his domesticated history to Travis, Sunset and Sapphire on one of the clifftops. Nearby, Phoebe, Annette and Jasmine played with Eustace, Rosa and Milo.

"I can't believe that patriarch Valentino had the audacity to be prejudicial about my history as a pet," muttered the planet-named macaw angrily and exasperatedly, "He doesn't even know what I have been through as a chick and how I ended up with Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake in the first place."

"Well, maybe explain to him more about your history, Mercury," said Travis.

"And another thing," added Mercury furiously and still hurt from Valentino's rather insensitive comments, "He does not like me being Sapphire's mate all because I have connections to humans."

Sapphire, at this, made a surprised reaction.

"Why should he be surprised?" she asked, "It wasn't my fault that I happened to end up in the clutches of those bird ecologists and conservationists. They were just trying to keep the Lear's macaw from going extinct. The only problem was they tried to get me to breed with Mercury too quickly when we weren't ready yet."

Mercury sighed when the memory of meeting Sapphire for the first time alongside Venus meeting Zephyr and Brisa and Pluto meeting Lapis Lazuli and how they didn't get off on the right talon came into his head. However, he shook it off. Sunset then spoke.

"I think what Travis has said is good advice, Mercury," she said, "You should explain to Valentino more about your history and maybe that would take away some of his prejudicial attitude and make him understand how you ended up as a pet."

"That's the problem with our tribe and the other macaw tribes living with us," said Sapphire, "Due to all the negative experiences we have had with humans like logging activity and poaching, we have developed a bitter hatred of all humans and see them as nothing more than habitat destroying menaces. But what the tribe has to understand is that not all humans are like that."

She then looked at Mercury and said, "By the way, I thought we were going to help our human friends to find the Lear's macaw tribe so that they can confirm their existence and add our territory to Tulio and Linda's sanctuary to protect them from poaching and logging…"

"We don't have to do that, Sapphire," said Mercury with a wing up and eyes shut, "Susan's group has already done the task."

"How?" Sunset asked confused, glancing briefly at Eustace, Rosa, Milo, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette to make sure that they didn't wander off.

"Susan's group had sent up one of those hovering cameras, that is a camera attached to a small helicopter-like device controlled by a handheld remote type thing with buttons and levers," explained Mercury, "and they managed to find some of the Lear's macaws with it. Also, the group leader had received a phone call from Francisco's group about the green macaw tribe's existence, implying that the green macaws have also been discovered."

"Oh, that's brilliant," said Sapphire delighted, "Well, at least our territory and the greens' will be added to Tulio and Linda's sanctuary anytime soon."

"It is brilliant news," said Mercury but then his face fell. "However, Valentino was not very joyful to see the result…"

"Well, there's nothing he can do," said Travis, "This area and the green tribe's area are now going to be included in the sanctuary whether Valentino and Alonso like it or not. It's important that these rare birds are protected from loggers and poachers."

"The final task is to find the glaucous macaws which the bird ecologists will now hope will be doing," said Sunset. Then a thought about Pluto and his family entered her head.

"Oh, I wonder how Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks Blueberry, Quincy, Charon and Flor are doing with those glaucous macaws," she said. Mercury, his feelings soothed and the hurt from Valentino's insensitive comments about his past as a pet reduced then smiled.

"Well, I'm going to the camu-camu fruit grove to get us some camu-camu fruit," he said, "Our three girls could do with a vitamin C boost and so could me and Sapphire."

He then glanced at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and then opened his wings. As he took off, Sapphire called out, "Okay, see you when you get back and thanks for letting us know about Susan's group's discovery of the Lear's macaw tribe. Also, don't stray into the green tribe's side."

Mercury nodded in understanding and then disappeared into the trees. However, he didn't realise that he was being followed. As Mercury flew on through the trees, a bulky macaw shaped figure with green eyes watched him from under a large cluster of leaves. As he flew past, the figure took off after him, keeping at a distance so that Mercury didn't notice its presence. Mercury, oblivious to the figure following him, continued flying to the camu-camu fruit grove. A while later, the first bushes with the bright red fruit melted into view, alongside the stream by which the plants grew. Mercury smiled as the sweet smell of the white camu-camu flowers filled his nostrils. Bia had told Mercury that the scientific name for the camu-camu bush was _Myrciaria dubia_ which Mercury thought was a strange name, especially with the species name being similar to the word 'dubious' _._ However, Mercury wasn't that interested in how plants got their species name, anyway. Pushing that thought aside, Mercury began to scan the bushes for any ripe camu-camu fruit, still unaware that he was being watched. The green-eyed figure perched into a large covering of leaves of a nearby tree and watched him closely. Then as soon as Mercury had found some ripe fruit, he began to set to picking them. The moment the figure saw him about to pick the first fruit; it left its hiding place but Mercury did not hear its wings flap. Mercury closed his beak onto the stem of the first fruit and separated the fruit from its parent plant. Putting the fruit aside, Mercury began to pick the next fruit, holding it steady with a talon. He was going to pick six fruit: two for his three daughters, two for himself and two for Sapphire. As Mercury closed his beak on the second fruit's stem, he noticed a flash of navy blue out the corner of his eye. This roused his curiosity. Putting the second camu-camu fruit aside with the first, Mercury looked at the navy blue thing closely and realised that it was a feather. Mercury picked up the feather and examined it.

"That's strange," he murmured in a low voice to himself, "Where did this come from?"

It was then that he saw another dash of navy blue out the corner of his eye. At this, Mercury turned and saw another navy blue feather land gently a few centimetres from him. Frowning, Mercury went over to it to examine it. He then raised his head and examined the area above him but found no Lear's macaws flying around nearby. This confused Mercury even more. This was not right at all. How could navy blue feathers simply appear out of nowhere when there were no Lear's macaws flying nearby? Then a third feather drifted gently down from above and landed around 30 centimetres from Mercury like how the second one had done. Mercury, at this, went over to the feather when a fourth and then a fifth drifted down from above, the former a few centimetres from Mercury and the latter much further. The fifth feather landed close to the edge of the stream running through the camu-camu fruit grove. Mercury, compelled by curiosity, walked over to newly appeared feathers.

"This is definitely not right," he murmured to himself as he examined the two feathers. Then Mercury noticed four more navy blue feathers drift down from above, this time landing on the land on the other side of the stream. Mercury, compelled to investigate, opened his wings and flew over the stream. As he did so, more feathers drifted down from above and landed further from the stream's edge, further than the previous four feathers. Mercury then landed on the opposite side of the stream and picked up the feathers before moving on to the next group of feathers. As he investigated the mysterious feathers, Mercury began to examine his position. When he realised that he was on the other side of the stream running through the camu-camu fruit grove, horror bubbled within Mercury: he had crossed the Lear's/green territory boundary into green macaw tribe territory.

"(Gasp)! I've crossed the border!" cried Mercury to himself. From a tree branch above Mercury, the green-eyed figure smirked as it looked down at Mercury as he prepared to make his way back in to the Lear's tribe's territory. However, before Mercury could make the take-off flap to return to the Lear's tribe's territory, a swoosh was heard right behind him as a green, blue, red and yellow blur zoomed past. Mercury stopped briefly but then prepared to make the take-off flap when a female voice said, "Mercury?"

At this, Mercury jumped into the air upon being startled by the voice and turned round. To his surprise, he found himself facing a familiar great green macaw with emerald green eyes, azure wing flight feathers and a set of wavy head feathers behind her head. Above Mercury, the green-eyed macaw figure gazed down at Mercury as he tried to calm his nerves.

"Esmeralda?" said Mercury in surprise. Then the macaw, which was Esmeralda, made a face flooded with surprise and shock.

"What are you doing on our side?" she demanded, "Get back to the other side of the stream will you!?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cross the border," said Mercury, opening his wings, "I-I-I was…"

Suddenly, another voice filled the air, making dread slam into Esmeralda and Mercury as hard as a stone hitting them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" said the voice. At this, Mercury whipped round until his grey eyes landed on Alonso. Accompanying Alonso were three more macaws: two male military macaws named Luis and Lewin and a female great green macaw, but it wasn't Verde for she was back at the green tribe's home patch. These three macaws wore scornful faces as their eyes bore into the panicked Mercury.

"Looks like Valentino has a little disobedient rebel of his tribe afoot on our patch," crooned Alonso sarcastically and with narrowed eyes.

"Absolutely," added Lewin scornfully. Esmeralda, at this, looked at Mercury with appalled eyes.

"Can you just tell us what are you doing on our side, Mercury?" she asked gently. Mercury, at this, was speechless.

"'Mercury'?" repeated Luis, Lewin's twin brother in surprise, "Is that the name of that Lear's macaw brat?"

"W-w-w-well, I-I-I-I-I was just visiting the c-c-c-ccamu-camu fruit grove and…" stammered Mercury.

"And then what?" asked Alonso, "You come over onto our side to steal camu-camu fruit from our part of the grove?"

"No it…" began Mercury but found himself hitting a roadblock of fear as Alonso's blue eyes pierced him.

"Well, you've gone and done it, brat," said the green tribe patriarch, "You've gone and trespassed onto our territory. Hasn't Valentino told you about the truce between his tribe and ours about keeping our macaws within the borders?"

Mercury continued standing there; looking desperately at the Lear's macaws' land as though he wanted to flee. His tongue stuck in his mouth and his flow of words was blocked. Above him and the five green macaws, the macaw figure sitting in the tree smiled widely.

"Well then," said Alonso crossly and seriously, "If you're not going to answer, I might as well issue you… and your tribe… a very serious penalty. I'm going to let you off and allow you to return to your tribe's land but I want you to take this message to Valentino, and make sure that he gets it."

Lewin, Luis and the female great green macaw all made angry faces while Esmeralda gazed at Mercury with an appalled look.

"I challenge Valentino's tribe to a match in the Pit of Doom for the entire camu-camu fruit grove," said Alonso, "That is, the whole bunch of camu-camu bushes including the bushes that grow on the Lear's macaw tribe's land, at mid-afternoon. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Mercury, at this, looked at Esmeralda for backup but Esmeralda, who was confused as to why Mercury had stepped into the green tribe's land, said nothing. Mercury then turned back to Alonso, a panicked look covering his face.

"Then get out of our land and fly straight to your tribe leader," snarled Alonso angrily, "And make it sharp. You don't have a moment to lose to allow delays."

Mercury flinched harshly. Propelled by panic, he opened his wings and took off in the direction of the Lear's tribe's land and home patch, and within seconds he was gone. After Mercury had left, Lewin and Luis saw some navy blue feathers lying around.

"Alonso," said Lewin, "I think that navy blue brat has left his mark by shedding some feathers."

"Then toss those feathers into the stream, Lewin," commanded Alonso, "And get the green tribe's Pit of Doom team ready. We've got a match to face against the Lear's macaws."

Lewin nodded and left, followed by Luis and the female great green macaw.

"And Esmeralda," said Alonso, getting Esmeralda's attention. "Get your family ready to witness the match."

Esmeralda, at first, hesitated. She had just come across her friend who had apparently strayed into the green tribe's land by accident. But then she nodded and left, followed by Alonso.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17- the game between the Lear's and green macaws**

"You went WHERE!?" shouted Valentino after Mercury had explained everything that had happened between him and Alonso at the camu-camu fruit grove. Standing with him were Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Waldo, Rosalind and several other Lear's macaws. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa stood next to Sapphire and around the group; navy blue heads with teal markings, yellow-orange facial features and black or grey beaks were protruding out many of the holes in the cliff face and a few of the holes in the trees, gazing at the gathering. Mercury was shaking like a leaf, clearly frightened by Valentino's rage and the convergence of gazes from the audience formed by many of the tribe members focussing on him. However, he barely had enough control over his tendency to stammer when under pressure to speak.

"I-I-I was going to get some camu-camu fruit for myself and my family," said the timid grey-eyed macaw, "w-w-when I noticed a navy blue feather appear. When I went to investigate it to figure where it had come from, more feathers appeared and before I knew it, I wandered right across the stream and into the green tribe's side following that trail of feathers."

Gasps were drawn in from the spectating macaws as Rosalind stepped forward towards Mercury, her wings on her hips and her aqua blue eyes ablaze with anger as she glared at him. She pushed her beak right into Mercury's face.

"You know what this means, Murphy?" Rosalind snarled, making Mercury flinch. "It means that you have critically endangered our precious supply of camu-camu fruit."

"Absolutely," put in Waldo, "And once our side of the grove is lost to the green macaws, our tribe is going to struggle to find alternative food sources to make up for the lost camu-camu."

Mercury continued standing there, speechless until finally he broke through the barrier.

"I'm sorry," he begged, "I didn't mean to put the Lear's tribe's side of the camu-camu fruit grove in serious jeopardy but… it wasn't my fault. I just got distracted by those navy blue feathers that appeared out of nowhere and they led me across the border and into the green tribe's territory. I knew not to trespass on Alonso's side…"

"That's NOT an excuse, Murphy," snapped Rosalind angrily, "You've put our only supply of camu-camu fruit at serious risk of being lost to our green macaw enemies!"

Mercury flinched at the angry comment. Then jeering erupted from the tribe members who had heard this, making Travis and Sunset look around and then back at Mercury with sympathetic eyes. Sapphire continued staring at Mercury with a disappointed look on her face. Then she changed her expression to one of curiosity.

"Wait," she said, "Did you say that you found some navy blue feathers appear out of nowhere and lead you into the green macaws' side?"

"That's what I'm trying to say," protested Mercury. Valentino, however, shook his head in utter disapproval.

"Well, if Alonso wants a match in the Pit of Doom for the whole camu-camu fruit grove then so be it," he snarled, "I just hope we win it, get the entire camu-camu fruit grove including the green macaws' side and teach those pesky green neighbours of ours not to mess with us. Hopefully they'll be the ones to find alternative food sources to replace the camu-camu fruit and not us."

Turning to Waldo, he said, "Waldo, you gather the Pit of Doom team members and get prepared for the match at mid-afternoon on the double. Tell Archie also to get prepared as soon as he turns up, understand!?"

"Yes, sir," replied Waldo obediently and without hesitation, he took off to gather the Pit of Doom team.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Mercury, grabbing onto Valentino's wing before the tribe leader could take off. Valentino shot the macaw a bitter and disapproving glare.

"No, human's pet," snapped the patriarch, yanking his wing from Mercury's grasp, "You've helped enough."

"Yeah," said Rosalind in agreement as Valentino lofted into flight, "And if those green macaws win, you're in serious trouble!"

And with that, she took off after Valentino with the other macaws accompanying her, leaving Mercury to stand there appalled. Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette came up to him as did Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"I don't understand!" Mercury muttered, "I didn't go over to the green macaws' side on purpose."

"Do you have any idea of how those navy blue feathers appeared?" asked Sapphire.

"No," said Mercury, "I looked around but did not see any passing Lear's macaws. And before I knew it, I was led right into the green tribe's patch."

Then suspicion entered Sapphire's head.

"Something fishy must have been going on then," she said, a frowned look on her face and a wing pinching her beak.

"Something fishy?" repeated Travis. Sapphire looked at the sulfur-crested cockatoo.

"Well if those navy blue feathers, obviously feathers from a Lear's macaw, have just appeared out of nowhere with no other Lear's macaws flying past from Mercury's perspective," replied Sapphire, "Then it's obvious that someone else must have been there who would have dropped those feathers."

"Well if that is so, then who?" asked Mercury.

"Furthermore," added Sapphire, "I believe those feathers would have been dropped…"

But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Waldo's cries as he rounded up the Pit of Doom team members.

"Can you team players for the Lear's tribe's Pit of Doom gather at the mango trees please?" barked Waldo as he flew around the ravine. As he continued shouting orders, several Lear's macaws flew out from the holes of the three cliff faces and the few trees and joined him. Soon Archie turned up at the clifftops. As he did so, Waldo flew past.

"Oh, Archie, there you are," said Waldo, "Can you get ready for the Pit of Doom at mid-afternoon please? The other team members are gathering at the mango trees."

"Why?" asked Archie, "What's happened?"

"No time to explain, Archie," replied Waldo and with that, he continued flying around the ravine calling for the other members of the Lear's tribe's Pit of Doom team. Archie just lofted into flight and joined the other team members perched in the mango trees.

 **Meanwhile…**

The glaucous macaws were up to their usual business. Rudi was sending out glaucous macaw patrol groups to continue the hunt for a place the tribe could call home. However, some of the macaws were growing bored of this routine. Since the flying foxes' siege on this flock of ultra-rare and near-extinct macaws resulting in them being forced to abandon their home and live as nomadic refugees without a proper home, the search for a new home had been gone one for years now with no luck or success. Because Rudi and Valeria, and Rudi's parents who had led the tribe before Rudi took over after his father's death, did not want to burden the other macaw tribes and clans, they had moved out here to search for a new home by themselves, leading the other macaw tribes and clans to believe that they had not survived the flying foxes' attack though now they know that Lapis Lazuli had survived and was still alive. While Rudi and Valeria continued sending out patrol groups to continue the search for a new home and to keep an eye out for humans and predators, Pluto was on a flight out with three of the glaucous macaw tribe members. The three macaws were two males named Santiago and Henri and the third was a female named Beatrice. The three macaws had been commanded by Rudi to take Pluto out training and learning the skills of jungle survival, some of which Pluto already had, such as getting out of traps or entanglement in vines, foraging for food and building a nest. As the four flew along, three of them talked.

"When I found my daughter Cristal standing face to face with that weird parakeet with the crest, I had been alarmed," said the female named Beatrice, popping Pluto's head as she unintentionally caught his attention. "Honestly, I had never seen such a strange parrot…"

"Oh, it's not important, Beatrice," said one of the males, Santiago, "What's more important is training this young male (referring to Pluto) in the basics of jungle survival."

"Wasn't he accompanied by that white parrot with the yellow crest yesterday when he turned up with Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks?" asked Henri, the other male, "I haven't seen that bird anywhere today."

"That white parrot was a sulfur-crested cockatoo named Travis," said Pluto, "He's one of our friends. The chick Beatrice's daughter saw was one of his sons Eustace."

"A what?" asked Henri confused.

"Sulfur-crested thingy-too?" said Santiago, "That's a species of parrot we haven't heard of."

"Sulfur-crested cockatoos aren't native to Brazil," said Pluto.

"Well, let's just forget that subject;" said Henri firmly, "We've got training to do."

Then the four continued flying on through the trees.

"What was your name again?" Henri asked Pluto.

"It's Pluto," replied Pluto.

"Right then, Pluto," said Henri, "We're going to start with escaping from traps. I assume you already know how to get out of a tangle of vines, don't you?"

"Yes, I bite my way out with my beak," replied Pluto.

"That's the method of trap escape," said Beatrice with a smile, "and you knew the answer to that which is a big important thing. The main purpose of this trip is to sharpen your current skills and introduce you to new skills like camouflage using the environment…"

"Camouflage?" repeated Pluto, "How?"

"We'll get to that later," said Henri. The quartet continued flying on when suddenly, Santiago shouted, "GET DOWN!"

At this, Pluto felt a wing grab his left wing and pluck him out of the air. He was then immediately dragged into a cluster of leaves as Henri had quickly tugged him out of the air upon hearing Santiago's warning. Santiago and Beatrice also hid in another cluster of leaves. Then Santiago parted the leaves and looked out. Pluto, Beatrice and Henri did the same. They couldn't quite see but they did hear some noises but they weren't from natural creatures. Instead, the noises were from artificially made beasts, beeping and chugging emanating from some sort of machine concealed by a large barrier of trees. However through the gaps in the screen formed by the green vegetation, flashes of bright yellow and other unnatural colours were visible. Then the four glaucous macaws heard the sound of cracking and splintering accompanied by a large rustling of leaves. Along with these sounds, buzzing was heard which Pluto recognised was from a human's cutting tool he had seen lumberjacks use to help cut down trees. Pluto looked on horrified as he heard these awful sounds.

"What are they?" he asked in a low voice. Henri looked at the sandy brown eyed glaucous macaw darkly.

"Loggers and their tree destroying machines," he murmured in a serious voice, "They're a real menace, those destroyers. So many animals have lost their homes because of those pesky humans and their destructive machines."

"We'd better monitor those loggers closely and see where they are heading," said Beatrice, "we'd better make sure that they aren't heading our way."

"That's the problem the Spix macaw tribe and the other macaw tribes and clans had to deal with before their home is set up as a sanctuary," said Pluto. This was met by looks from the other three glaucous macaws.

"What do you mean their home is set up as a sanctuary?" asked Henri suspiciously.

"How?" asked Beatrice, "Who has set the Spix macaw tribe and their neighbours' home as a sanctuary?"

Pluto was about to answer when a loud cracking of wood was heard. At this, all four heads whipped round and saw the trees topple down before them. The barrier knocked down, the culprit was fully revealed. Pluto gasped when he saw a wheeled machine with bright yellow covering most of its surface. The machine's wheels were connected via a strip of metal which Pluto had seen on a human's army vehicle called a tank. At the front of the thing was a colossal mouth-like thing with teeth serrated into the bottom lip. This 'mouth' was attached to the machine via two long poles, one at either side. Pluto then saw that this thing was piloted by a human as he or she drove the thing into more trees, the mouth ramming into the trunks and pushing more trees down while smaller vegetation was mowed. Behind this machine and its driver, more humans dotted what appeared to be a clearing of bare soil with stumps, the remains of trees that had been cut down, littering the land. In the distance, more machines mowed the rainforest while some more machines worked on the trunks such as hoisting them onto more machines with some sort of container which Pluto recognised as carrier trucks. Pluto continued gazing at the scene in utter horror and awful awe. This was the first time he had seen the devastation caused by deforestation with his own two eyes in his life. Then Henri's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Let's get out of here before those humans spot us," said Henri, "We must alert Rudi and Valeria about this at once."

And with that, the flour macaws abandoned their hiding spot and flew off back in the direction of the glaucous macaw tribe. In the makeshift 'home' of the glaucous macaws, Lapis Lazuli was teaching Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy how to cut up a pineapple by showing them how it was done. As she did so, a turquoise glaucous macaw with a messy ruffle of curled feathers behind his head and green eyes flew in and perched beside Lapis Lazuli as she sliced up the pineapple with her beak while her four chicks watched.

"And that," said Lapis Lazuli, concluding the lesson by holding up the chopped up pineapple, "Is how we cut up pineapples. It is with our beaks."

It was then that she noticed Charon gazing at something with wide eyes while Blueberry, Flor and Quincy smiled.

"What is it, Charon?" asked Lapis Lazuli, still unaware that Rodrigo was standing by her, looking at her.

"Hi, Lapis Lazuli," said Rodrigo, making the rich blue and grey macaw jump and whip her head in his direction. However, the moment her eyes landed on Rodrigo, disgust and bitterness boiled in them.

"You sure have a nerve to show your face, don't you, Rodrigo?" growled Lapis Lazuli disgustedly, before raising her voice to one of hostility. "What do you want!?"

As she snarled this, her feathers rose, making Rodrigo flinch. Rodrigo put his wings up to show that he meant no harm.

"No need to get snappy," said Rodrigo timidly, "I just came to apologise to you about something that had happened between us years ago."

Lapis Lazuli, at this, looked at Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy and jerked her head slightly in a direction, saying to them, 'come on, kids, let's move'. The four chicks obeyed and took off.

"I'm afraid it's too late, Rodrigo," said Lapis Lazuli as she opened her wings to follow her chicks, a glare at Rodrigo, "I don't have time for a talk."

And with that, she lofted into flight. Rodrigo, however, didn't want to leave Lapis Lazuli alone just yet so he lofted into flight after her.

"Look, I know you're still angry with me even after all these years, Lapis," said Rodrigo as he flew after Lapis Lazuli who didn't look at him. "B-b-but those bats were too powerful and there was no way I could save you…"

Still Lapis Lazuli did not answer and continued following her chicks.

"… I would have done, had I had the chance," continued Rodrigo despite his excuses falling on deaf ears, "But I would have been killed…"

"You DID have the chance to save me from those bats when I was cornered against the tree by them, Rodrigo," snapped Lapis Lazuli as she landed on a perch with her four chicks, before making eye contact with Rodrigo once again, "I was surrounded but you weren't. You could have swooped him and nabbed me from those bats but you didn't. Instead, you just flew off to save your own skin despite the pleading look in my eyes, and left me to escape those savage flying furballs on my own, resulting in me being further separated from this tribe for well over ten years."

Rodrigo tried to protest but then guilt swept over him like a strong wind as he remembered that day. However, he tried to come up with more excuses.

"I-I-I was too afraid," he muttered, "I-I-I'm sorry."

"Not good enough," snapped Lapis Lazuli, "Ever since that day after escaping those bats, I had been severely heartbroken. You never didn't care about me at all, despite all the things you've said to me during our time as a boyfriend-girlfriend couple, such as how beautiful I am and how you loved me. But you have thrown all that away by escaping to save your own skin and leaving me to escape those barbaric bats on my own, resulting in me being unable to return to the glaucous macaw tribe for fear that those bats might find me and kill me."

Rodrigo tried to protest but Lapis Lazuli swept on.

"And ever since I was forced to settle somewhere on my own with no other glaucous macaws around me before I met Pluto, it took me months to overcome my broken heart."

"And then years later, you've found that guy and he's now your mate and the father of those four chicks," said Rodrigo pointing to Flor, Quincy, Charon and Blueberry, to which Lapis Lazuli gave a curt nod. Then Rodrigo looked on in appal.

"B-b-but I wanted to be the father of your chicks," he protested, "How have you met this Pluto guy when the chances of meeting other glaucous macaws are incredibly slim due to our rarity?"

Lapis Lazuli turned her back on her former boyfriend and continued, "That's not for you to know, Rodrigo, now go away and leave and my chicks alone!"

She said this hostilely, making Rodrigo realise that Lapis Lazuli harshly meant it. Defeated, he turned and lofted into flight, leaving Lapis Lazuli alone with her two sons and two daughters. Just then, Pluto, Henri, Santiago and Beatrice had returned. As they flew through the trees dotted with dozens and dozens and dozens of grey headed macaws with teal, turquoise and even rarer blue, plumages and yellow facial features with some flying about, Henri began to look around for Rudi and Valeria.

"Excuse me," he asked two of the passing glaucous macaws, "Have you seen Rudi and Valeria? We want to speak to them."

The two glaucous macaws didn't reply but pointed a talon in the direction of the leaders.

"Thank you," said Henri and he led Beatrice, Santiago and Pluto in the direction. As soon as the four macaws found Valeria and Rudi as they continued sending out patrol groups, they flew over to them and touched down on the branch on which the two leaders sat. Rudi then saw then and turned to them.

"Hi, Henri, I thought you were taking Pluto out to train," said the patriarch.

"We were but before we could start the first lesson," explained Henri, "We ran into some loggers."

When Rudi heard this, alarm exploded within him while Valeria whipped round upon hearing this after sending out another patrol group.

"Where?" shouted Valeria.

"Twenty minutes flight south-west from here," said Santiago, "I don't know which direction those loggers and their machines are heading but we must keep an eye on them."

"Alright, thanks for letting us know," said Rudi, "I'll send out a patrol group to monitor those loggers right away."

"Thanks," said Henri and with that, he nodded to Pluto, Santiago and Beatrice and the four flew off to look for somewhere else to train Pluto. Pluto looked around as he flew through the community of the glaucous macaw tribe and felt a pang of pity for them. They indeed had no safe place to stay and were vulnerable and open to the dangers of logging and poaching.

'Those bird ecologists have just GOT to find this flock soon,' he thought, 'They've just GOT to'.

Then he followed his three trainers into the jungle.

 **Meanwhile**

It was now mid-afternoon, the sun half way between its midday point and the western horizon and all the diurnal animals were up to their afternoon business. However, a big event was taking place at this time, a big and important event between two macaw tribes in a giant rock crater known as the Pit of Doom. The Pit of Doom was alive with the loud roar of perpetual squawking from a huge flock of macaws and the ridges that ran around the wall of the giant crater which served as stands were covered by a blanket of colour. Half was dark navy blue while the other half was green. The Lear's and green macaws were preparing for their Pit of Doom match. Seated in front of the Lear's macaw tribe gathered at one side of the Pit were Valentino and Rosalind, their eyes ablaze with anger and wrath as they glared at the green macaws' leaders, Alonso and Verde. The green and Lear's macaws were booing and jeering at each other. Most were anyway. Among the green crowd, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon looked around with sombre eyes, especially at the Lear's macaws. Somewhere in the Lear's crowd near where Valentino and Rosalind were seated, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, together with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo sat, saddened as the Lear's macaws around them jeered at the green macaws opposite them. While the two macaw tribes jeered at each other, two mammals took their stand on one ledge of the Pit. They were a tapir and a porcupine, the former which served as the announcer, and the latter, a commentator.

"Welcome, everyone," shouted the tapir announcer, who had an enormously big voice which was sometimes deafening to his porcupine friend and that rang and echoed through the massive Pit, "It sure is a nice day in the Pit of Doom isn't it?"

"Indeed it is," shouted the porcupine commentator, "In today's match between the Lear's macaws and the green macaws, it is for the entire camu-camu bush grove and the game will be played on the best of seven…"

In a hole in one side of the Pit of Doom below the stands, which was the scoremarker hole, two macaws, one from the green tribe and the other from the Lear's tribe, stood, glaring at each other. The name of the green tribe's scoremarker was Amelia and she was a military macaw and a cousin of Lewin and Luis the twin brothers. Like all military macaws, she was green, yellow, blue and red and her eyes were a shade of green unlike her near identical cousins. However she did have a short sheet of feathers similar to her cousins. The Lear's macaws' scoremarker was named Monique and she looked identical in body shape to Roxie, the Spix tribe's scoremarker and Cherie, the red tribe's scoremarker. However, her feathers were not a large ponytail-like flick but a few short flicks of feathers pointing forward over her face. Her eyes were a shade of green. Apart from the hyacinth macaw clans as the hyacinth macaws were too large for Pit of Doom games and the macaws felt that their size and strength would give an unfair advantage against smaller bird species, all bird tribes and clans had a Pit of Doom team consisting of players, a goalie, a scoremarker which was always female and a captain of the team which was always male, as well as substitutes. The Spix tribe's team captain was Roberto and the scoremarker was Roxie; the red tribe's team captain was Felipe and their scoremarker was named Cherie who looked identical in body shape to Roxie; the blue-and-gold tribe's team captain was named Ignacio and their scoremarker was named Felicia, and the blue-throated macaw clan's team captain was named Franco and the scoremarker was named Teresa. The glaucous macaw tribe, before they were brutally driven out by the flying foxes, also once had a Pit of Doom team but that the team's Pit of Doom games role had, at the moment, become obsolete. Amelia and Monique glared at each other bitterly. At their feet was a pile of seven dragonfruit which will serve as counting points for each goal the scoremarkers' team would score. The fruit used varied. When the Spix tribe had their match against the red tribe for the whole Brazil nut grove, Cherie and Roxie had used Brazil nuts to mark their respective teams' scores. While Amelia and Monique bitterly glared at each other, in the main space above the pool, the teams were preparing for action. The Lear's macaws' team led by Waldo did some sort of taunting dance. Opposite them, Lewin who led the green team, also danced and taunted the Lear's macaws. As the teams prepared for action with the goalies taking up their position in the goals formed by rock arches on opposite ends of the aerial stadium, Mercury began to try and talk with Valentino.

"Excuse me," he said, "Can I…"

"Look, just sit back down and watch, Murphy," snapped Valentino harshly, "You're the one who brought this on."

As he said this, Mercury was met with bitter glares from the row of substitutes. At this, he sat back down beside Sapphire and his daughters and cockatoo friends. In the green crowd, Uranus tried to pick out Mercury and Sapphire.

"Mercury's in serious trouble now," muttered Esmeralda, "He crossed into our side, haven't you heard?"

"But how" asked Uranus as he held Oberon on his lap, "I thought he knew better."

"Look, Mom, Dad," shouted Miranda excitedly, "The team captains."

At this, Uranus and his family turned their eyes onto the central rock column which served as the starting stand. This was Uranus, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon's first time in watching a Pit of Doom game but the soccer games played were serious and not fun much to their surprise. Esmeralda had explained to them why. It was definitely better than a typical war involving fighting as both opposing sides would end up with casualties having often serious injuries. However, fighting sometimes does occur in Pit of Doom games at times, and the red tribe's team was renowned for doing just that with the Spix team when the two tribes used to hate each other; the red team members would deliberately cause fouls and pretend it was an accident but Esmeralda had told Uranus that the green tribe's team also played rough with the Lear's macaws. On the central rock column, Lewin and Waldo stared each other down, their eyes flooded with bitter hatred boring into each other. Their feathers were raised.

"Lewin!" snarled Waldo bitterly.

"Waldo," growled Lewin. Then a bird, a bare-faced curassow appeared with a small yellow and orange motmot on wing.

"Ready?" said the curassow which was the referee.

"Heads," said Lewin.

"Tails," said Waldo. Then the referee threw the motmot, which was the coin-toss bird, into the air. The little bird spun until she fell onto the rocky surface between the two macaws, landing on her backside. Her face twisted with pain from the impact but since she was sitting with her head up, it signified heads. The referee then picked up the coin toss bird and set down a fruit shell which will serve as the ball. Lewin immediately kicked it and passed it to another member of the green team, a great green macaw who then passed it to another green macaw to the cheers of the green tribe. Lear's macaws gave chase, trying to get the ball.

"Oooh, look at Bastian go, everyone," shouted the tapir commentator, "He's surely an agile macaw he is…"

As he said this, the green macaw, a male military named Bastian, dribbled the ball agilely over, under and past any Lear's macaw that came his way. Then suddenly, a navy blue and teal blur shot in and nabbed the ball right out of his talons.

"Excuse me, greenie, this is mine," tittered the blue mockingly as the commentator shouted, "Oooh, Waldo has snatched the ball. What a disappointing ordeal for Bastian everyone."

Bastian, at this, shot Waldo a glare as the Lear's macaw smiled sweetly back at him while dribbling the ball away. As he dribbled, the Lear's macaws cheered wildly while the green macaws jeered. Waldo then flew towards the goal only to be confronted by three green macaws. Thinking quickly, Waldo shot the ball to another Lear's macaw who then shot the ball at the goal where the green macaws' goalie was waiting. However, the green macaw caught it.

"Oooh, it was close, everyone," said the tapir, "Daysi almost scored a goal but Nalda the goalie has saved it."

The goalie named Nalda then passed the ball to one of the green macaws and that green macaw then began to dribble the ball in the direction of the Lear's macaws' goal, Lear's macaws in hot pursuit. Mercury watched in awe as the green macaws swiftly passed the ball between each other with Lear's macaws giving chase. Then suddenly, Waldo shot in and snatched the ball right from under a female great green macaw's beak and began to agilely dribble back towards the green team's goal where Nalda was. He rapidly dodged every green macaw that came his way by flying over, under or around them. He sometimes sent two green macaws crashing into each other and then as soon as he was near the green macaws' goal, Waldo gave the ball a powerful kick, sending it zooming past Nalda, who failed to save it in time and into the goal.

"GOOOAAAL!" shouted the tapir, "What an amazing shoot from Waldo, everyone!"

The Lear's macaws erupted in an uproarious cheering while the greens screeched in frustration. Mercury looked on in admiration. In the scoremarker's hole, Monique gleefully picked up the first dragonfruit and set in on a ledge above her to mark Waldo's score, much to Amelia's fury. Soon the game was back on track after the referee blew a whistle squawk and the ball was recovered. Starting from the central rock column again, Waldo kicked the ball and passed it to Archie who then passed it to a female member of the Lear's team. As the female Lear's macaw dribbled the ball, a green bluer shot in and snatched the ball. Luis, Lewin's twin brother, had zoomed in and had managed to sneakily take the ball much to the Lear's macaw's frustration. As Luis began to quickly dribble the ball in the direction of the Lear's goal with the Lear's goalie waiting with Lear's macaws in hot pursuit, the commentator said, "Wow, look at Luis go, everyone! He's zooming past three Lear's macaws and has passed the ball to Drake…"

A male great green macaw named Drake then took the ball and dribbled the ball towards the goal where the Lear's macaw goalie was. Then with a powerful backflip and kick, Drake sent the ball flying like a comet into the goal. The Lear's macaw goalie tried to save it but the ball flew over his wing and into the goal.

"GOOOAAAL!" shouted the tapir, "What an amazing shot from Drake there! Straight over Paolo the Lear's goalie's wing!"

The green macaws then cheered as Amelia, a mocking smile at Monique eagerly picked up the second dragonfruit and set it on the ledge above her to mark one-all to both sides, Monique glaring at her. Drake then shouted to the Lear's players, "Haha, eat THIS, Lear's brats!"

Soon the ball was retrieved and the next game started from the central rock column. During this game, Archie dribbled the ball in Nalda the green goalie's direction when he found himself confronted by a wall of four green macaws. Immediately, Archie passed the ball to Daysi who then began to dribble the ball. However, something nasty happened. As Daysi dribbled the ball towards Nalda and the green macaws' goal, Lewin hovered behind her and shot in towards her at high speed. However, rather than take the ball, he deliberately ploughed right into Daysi's back, making the Lear's macaw screech in pain. This was met by gasps of horror and shock from the crowd and an "OI!" from Valentino. Mercury flinched harshly when he saw the incident, as did Uranus and Esmeralda.

"Oooh, looks like we've had an accident, folks," said the tapir in shock, "Daysi's been put out of action as a result of Lewin's tackle."

As he said this, two Lear's macaws with a large leaf came in and took Daysi away. Daysi looked in pain and was clutching her hurt back with a twisted face. When her teammates saw the state she was in as a result of Lewin's attack, they were furious.

"How was THAT an accident!?" screeched Waldo. As he said this, the curassow referee flew in and presented Lewin with the motmot's yellow face.

"Foul!" said the referee.

"Oh, come on," muttered Lewin, "It was only an accident, like the tapir said."

"No, you did that on PURPOSE!" shouted Archie nearby. Lewin blew Archie a raspberry and flew away as Valentino sent in a substitute to replace Daysi. Soon the game was back on track which ended with another female Lear's macaw named Susana scoring the goal, making the Lear's macaw crowd go into an uproar as the tapir shouted, "what an amazing score from Susana there! It's time for the Mexican wave!"

And with that, while Susana's teammates including Waldo tossed her into the air and chanted her name much to the green macaws' disgust and fury, the navy blue and teal crowd sent a pulse of wings coursing through them. The wave travelled from one side of the navy blue sea to the other. As it passed over them, Sapphire, Mercury, Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine just remained seated. The wave continued travelling around until it finally reached the last Lear's macaw seated next to the green macaws. The adjacent green macaws just glared at the Lear's macaws disdainfully before turning to face the game again. In the scoremarker hole, Monique had picked up the third dragonfruit and had set it on the ledge above her with the first to mark one-two to the Lear's macaws. Amelia bitterly glared at her as she did it but Monique responded with a smug smile. Over the next six scores, a lot has happened. Lewin has managed to score a goal for the greens by shooting the ball straight at Paolo and have it bounce off his beak, much to the wincing of the Lear's macaws and then into the goal, scoring the second goal for the green macaws and making the greens go in to a Mexican wave of their own. The third score for the green macaws was done by a female member of the green macaws named Hayle and the third score for the Lear's macaws was done by Waldo. However, during these games, a few macaws ended up as casualties during the rough and tough game. Waldo had accidentally collided with Drake when trying to take the ball from him and had received a yellow from the referee which marked a foul, four Lear's macaws were taken out of action as they were deliberately attacked by two green macaws, forcing Valentino into sending four more replacements while they had to be carried off from the aerial stadium, and a male Lear's macaw named Lucas had deliberately injured Luis's foot by pretending to tackle him to take the ball but struck him instead, earning a foul from the referee. Luis had to be taken off the stadium and replaced by one of the substitutes by Alonso. The scores was now three all for both sides with only one dragonfruit left.

"The scores are now three all, everyone," shouted the tapir, "Whoever scores next will win the game and the entire camu-camu fruit grove!"

"Absolutely," said the porcupine, "So the fate of the whole camu-camu fruit grove now rests entirely on the final score."

Valentino looked on tensely. He was clearly worried for the Lear's macaws' side of the camu-camu fruit grove but he had his trust in the team. He then eyed the number of substitutes and saw that he was down to one.

"Good job, Lear's macaw team," shouted Valentino, "Now all you have to do is score the final goal and the entire camu-camu fruit grove will be ours."

Rosalind sat and looked on silently as the ball was retrieved and the game started up for one final time. Waldo kicked the ball and passed it to Hayle who then passed it to another member of the Lear's macaw team with green macaws in hot pursuit. Alonso was shouting from the green tribe crowd, "Go on, green macaws; don't let the Lear's macaws score the final goal!"

As he said this, one of the great green macaws rocketed at the Lear's macaw that had the ball and ploughed into his stomach, much to the flinching of many of the macaws. From the green macaw crowd, Uranus flinched while Esmeralda covered her beak in shock. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon looked on in shock as well. As the Lear's macaw fell towards the pool at the bottom of the Pit, clutching his stomach in agony, his teammates swooped down and caught him before he could fall into the water. The teammates then hoisted him back into the Lear's macaw crowd to be treated while the green macaw that had attacked him received a foul from the referee. Valentino then sent in the last substitute to replace the injured macaw and the game was back on track. However, it wasn't long until another Lear's macaw was taken out of action by a military macaw who tackled her square in the stomach.

"Oooh, looks like we have another foul, folks," said the tapir, "This time, Violeta's involved as Ted has tackled her in the stomach."

Valentino sighed with a wing on his forehead as Violeta was rescued from the stadium and hoisted back to the Lear's macaw crowd by two Lear's macaw first aiders. When Valentino saw that he had no substitutes left, he began to despair.

"It looks like Valentino has no substitutes left, everyone," said the tapir, "He's going to have to find another macaw to replace Violeta or the game will be forfeited."

Rosalind, at this, nudged Valentino and said, "We must send in another macaw to replace Violeta, dear. We can't afford to forfeit the game. It's too important. The fate of our side of the camu-camu fruit grove depends on it."

Valentino shot her a glare, "But how? I've no substitutes left."

As he said this, Mercury walked in.

"Let me be the substitute, Valentino," he said. This was met by a glare from Rosalind and Valentino and a shocked look from Sapphire, Travis and Sunset.

"Mercury, no!" cried Sunset.

"Don't you realise how rough it is out there, Merc?" asked Travis.

"You could get injured," added Sapphire, "Those green macaws are reckless players!"

Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Eustace, Rosa and Milo also protested against Mercury going into the stadium. However, Mercury ignored his family and cockatoo friends' protests and continued insisting on replacing Violeta.

"Please, Valentino," insisted Mercury, "Send me into the stadium. After all, I'm the macaw accused of bringing us into this whole mess."

In the aerial stadium, the players hovered, waiting for Valentino to make the decision while the green macaws looked on. Among the green crowd, Uranus and his family gazed at Mercury in awe and shock.

"It's not wise for him to join the game," said Esmeralda, "He could get injured."

As she said this, some surrounding green macaws looked at her and Uranus with suspicious eyes. However, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon didn't notice. Valentino continued thinking, Mercury continuing to stand and stare insistently at him. Across the stadium, Alonso and Verde stared at Valentino blankly as the curassow referee flew in with the motmot in her talons and said, "Well, Valentino, what's your choice? Shall we forfeit the game? If you don't have a substitute…"

At the last second, Valentino interrupted and said, "No, I'll send in a substitute."

And with that, he reluctantly nodded to Mercury, who triumphantly jumped and shouted, "YES!"

The referee then smiled and flew away, Mercury lofting himself into flight to join the Lear's macaws. As he entered the stadium, shocked faces flared up from the teammates while the green macaws jeered.

"Murphy!?" shouted Waldo. The other Lear's macaws also looked on in shock. However, one Lear's macaw wore a look of scorn as he watched Mercury join them.

"Look, let's just finish this game," said the referee to Waldo, "What Valentino has decided is done. There's no going back on it."

At first, Waldo looked back in shock but then relented. Then the Lear's and green macaw teams prepared for action with Mercury involved.

"Looks like Valentino has sent in one of the macaws from the crowd, everyone," shouted the tapir, "Who goes by the name of Murphy or whatever it is. Anyway, let's watch the test of the game. There's only one dragonfruit left!"

Sapphire looked on from the crowd as she watched her mate prepare for action.

"Be careful, Mercury," she murmured. From the green crowd, Uranus and Esmeralda also showed concern for Mercury.

"He's going to end up injured," said Esmeralda, "I know it."

Nearby, some green macaws began to talk about Esmeralda and Uranus, suspicion written all over their faces. Then seconds later, at the whistle squawk of the referee, the ball was tossed between talons again. Waldo kicked the ball toward another Lear's macaw who then kicked it to another before a green macaw could take it. Then the macaw began to dribble the ball with green macaws in hot pursuit.

"Whooa, look at Pedro go, everyone," shouted the tapir, "He's dodged two green macaws and… oooh, he's nearly collided with Drake…"

The macaw named Pedro had narrowly managed to escape a collision with Drake by sharply kicking the ball in another direction. Mercury flew alongside the other Lear's macaws as they tried to get into position about the green macaw opponents.

"Hey, pass to me," he shouted, "I'm right here!"

"Oh, shut up, newbie," snarled one of the green macaws.

"Yeah, why don't you return to the Lear's macaw crowd where you belong?" asked another green macaw mockingly. Mercury, however, ignored them and continued trying to get into position to catch the ball.

"I'm over here," he yelled as Pedro shot the ball to Hayle. The moment Hayle received the ball around five green macaws surrounded her. Hayle, at this, looked around quickly when she heard Mercury's shouting,

"Over here!" called Mercury as he hovered in free space. Seeing no other choice, Hayle made the pass to Mercury before any of the green macaws could snatch the ball from her. The ball flew towards Mercury but the ball ricocheted off his chest, causing a wincing reaction from many of the macaws including Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa and also Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon who held their wings over their beaks in shock. The ball flew up and landed into Mercury's talons. However, no sooner than he had caught it, Mercury looked up to see a large mob of green and Lear's macaws come rocketing towards him. At this, he froze in horror.

"Dribble the ball," shouted Valentino. However, Mercury still hovered there as the crowd of Lear's and green macaws continued towards him, grey eyes full of fear.

"Dribble the ball, you idiot!" screeched Valentino. Uranus then began to shout from the green crowd.

"Mercury, dribble the ball or you'd be hurt!" he called. This attracted some of the surrounding macaws' attention and they looked up at him suspiciously. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon then screamed as the mob of green with blue, red and yellow and navy blue with teal feathers were seconds away from Mercury.

"DRIBBLE THE BALL!" shouted Valentino loudly. Mercury then felt panic set in. Without another second's hesitation, he kicked the ball and began to dribble it away from the mob of Lear's and green macaws.

"That's it, Mercury," shouted Waldo, "You know where the green macaws' goal is. It's over there!"

And with that, he indicated with a talon.

"Alright, thanks," shouted Mercury as he began to agilely dribble the ball towards the goal where Nalda was. As he did so, his speed and agility began to show, much to the amazement of the crowd.

"Wow, look at Murphy go, everyone," shouted the tapir, "He's super-fast!"

"Yeah, and despite him being a newcomer," said the porcupine, "He's got boosters in his feathers."

Indeed Mercury had boosters in his feathers. He was practically shooting around each and every green macaw that came his way and the green macaws were having trouble trying to tackle him. Some green macaws were sent colliding into each other while some more narrowly avoided colliding with the stadium wall. From the green crowd, Alonso and Verde watched on disdainfully as Mercury inched closer and closer to the goal where Nalda was. However, as Mercury kicked the ball to shoot as soon as he was near Nalda, a green, yellow, blue and red blur shot in and took the ball, whacking him with a wing in the process. At first Mercury was stunned but when he recovered, he saw an aqua blue eyed military macaw make off with the ball.

"You're gonna pay for trespassing on our side, you wimp," shouted the macaw named Lewin scornfully. At this, Mercury, a determined look on his face creeping in, rocketed after Lewin.

"Lewin's got the ball and he's got Lear's macaws in hot pursuit," said the tapir, "And he's passed it to Coco…"

A female green macaw named Coco then took the ball and continued dribbling it towards the goal where Paolo the Lear's goalie was waiting. As she did so, Waldo flew in and tried to take the ball from her but Coco slyly spread a wing across the ball to block him. However, another navy blue blur shot in and took the ball. Coco looked up in shock to see that it was Mercury. At this, her face creased with fury.

"YOU!" she shouted, "I should have known it was you comet bird."

Mercury didn't answer and began to try and agilely dribble the ball back in Nalda the green goalie's direction to the cheer of the Lear's macaws and the tapir's glorious shouts. However, something happened. As Mercury found himself confronted by a wall of green macaws and was forced to change direction, going in Paolo's direction and planning to dribble the ball in a curve around the green macaws, Archie flew in, his eyes locked onto the ball. Mercury then dribbled the ball past Paolo and the Lear's macaw's goal when suddenly; a navy blue blur rocketed in and crashed into him from behind.

"Oooh, looks like the newcomer's been hit by one of his teammates, folks," shouted the tapir. The macaws, especially Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, winced. The collision had made Mercury kick the ball upward, rendering it free to be kicked by one of the green macaws. Lewin, seeing the opportunity, immediately took action without hesitation. He shot towards the ball and, with an elegant backflip, kicked the ball towards the goal where Paolo was waiting. When Mercury recovered from the collision, he looked around and saw the ball fly towards the Lear's macaw goalie. At this, horror flooded within him but there was not much that could be done now. Everyone held their breath as the ball flew towards Paolo and he reached a wing to save it. Rosalind and Valentino looked on with open beaks and Alonso and Verde hopeful, Sapphire and her daughters and Travis and his family looking on in worry, Uranus, Esmeralda and their five chicks looking on in despair. Paolo tried to save the ball but the ball flew over his wing and careened straight into the goal with a clicking noise as it hit the back of the rock arch. At first, there was silence but then the referee's whistle squawk broke it, followed by an enormous shout from the tapir.

"GOOOOAAAAL!" he shouted at the top of his voice, "Looks like Lewin has made the final score! The green macaw tribe wins the ENTIRE camu-camu FRUIT GROVE!"

At this, a wild uproar erupted volcanically from the green macaws (apart from Uranus and his family). In the scoremarker hole, Amelia immediately picked up the last dragonfruit and poked a tongue out at Monique, who flopped her wings down and shouted "NOOO!"

The Lear's macaws, meanwhile, were crying in despair. Valentino was especially screeching as though he was in agony.

"NOOOOOOO!" he bellowed, "OUR CAMU-CAMU FRUIT! OUR PRECIOUS CAMU-CAMU FRUIT!"

Rosalind also cried as tears flowed from her eyes. In the stadium, Lewin's teammates came and tossed him into the air and chanted his name, Lewin wearing a jubilant look on his face. Through his jubilation, he shot the Lear's macaws a smug look. Mercury, realising that the last score was made by one of the green macaws, and feeling pain from his back, immediately felt tears well in his eyes. Archie, who had been behind him when Lewin had made the final score, looked at him disdainfully and said, "Now look what you've done, you brat!"

This finally sent Mercury over the edge. Sobs escaping his throat, he retreated to the side of the stadium and began to cry his eyes out. Some of the green macaws let loose a mocking laugh as they watched him fly off in tears. Valentino and Rosalind continued looking on in utter shock at what had just happened, tears falling down their cheeks.

"Our camu-camu fruit," murmured Rosalind in a strangled voice. Just then, a green, yellow, blue and red form flew in and landed beside the two Lear's macaw tribe leaders.

"Oooh, look at you both," said the macaw, which was Alonso, mockingly, "Cryin' your eyes out like as pair of big chicks. Well, this is the conclusion. You've lost your side of the camu-camu fruit grove and will now have to look for substitutes from now on. So long, losers!"

Then with a mocking laugh, Alonso took off to follow his tribe as they had already taken off from their stands, leaving Rosalind and Valentino to weep. Sapphire, Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine, together with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa then looked around for Mercury. However, what happened next shocked both tribes. Something had stopped the green tribe from returning home and they had turned to see a family of green macaws fly towards Mercury.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18- Upsets, anger and disgust**

Mercury continued weeping on the edge of the stands. He was being approached by a family of green macaws, a family of seven. Above the other side of the Pit, the green macaws including Alonso and Verde looked on in shock as did the Lear's macaws as they watched the family of seven great green macaws approach Mercury. It was Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon and they had faces filled with sympathy as they approached the sobbing Mercury. From the Pit of Doom stadium, the Pit of Doom teams including Lewin, Luis, Coco and Amelia, watched with beaks open as Uranus and his family touched down beside Mercury. Mercury, at this, looked up at Uranus and his family with tears falling from his eyes. Then Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa flew in and joined the green macaw family. Uranus then reached out a wing and put it on Mercury's shoulder. Esmeralda did the same. Then Sapphire walked in and put her wings around Mercury to comfort him.

"We're ever so sorry, Mercury," said Esmeralda in a low and sympathetic voice. Mercury, at this, looked up at her with tear filled eyes. Around his feet, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon hugged him.

"You've tried your best in the game," said Uranus, "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Mercury sighed and accepted his great green macaw friends' comfort. Travis and his family looked on sympathetically. Then Alonso shouted.

"Hey, YOU TWO!" he called out to Uranus and Esmeralda, shooting a pointed wing at them, "Come away from that Lear's macaw at once! You and your five chicks."

Valentino and Rosalind and the other Lear's macaws also looked on with frowns at the spectacle. Uranus stood up and said, "Yes, Alonso, just as soon as we have finished comforting this poor Lear's macaw."

"We FORBID it!" shouted Verde, "Come away from that brat or you'll face the consequences."

"Absolutely," shouted Valentino, "We don't want green macaws comforting our tribe members and vice versa."

Uranus and Esmeralda, however, refused to budge. Then Sapphire walked in and said, "Don't you all realise that this conflict is not getting us anywhere?"

Gasps were drawn in from many of the macaws.

"Sapphire, DON'T you DARE!" shouted Rosalind. Then Alonso decided to take action by nodding to some green macaws nearby.

"Go and separate that family of macaws and take them home. We've had enough trouble from the Lear's brats for one day," he growled. The group of macaws nodded and made a beeline for Uranus and his family. Coco, Lewin, Luis and some of the other green macaw team members also flew in to help. Uranus and Esmeralda, seeing that they were outnumbered and seeing the disgusted look on Valentino and Rosalind's faces clearly indicating that they did not want them anywhere near Mercury, admitted defeat. Looking back at Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, Uranus said, "We're sorry, you five. We'd better go."

Sapphire nodded while Mercury looked on with fewer tears, having being comforted by Uranus and his family's comforting gestures. However, he was still upset and continued shedding tears. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also nodded in approval. Then Uranus and Esmeralda, together with Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, opened their wings and followed the other green macaws including those that had been about to force them away from Mercury, out of the Pit of Doom as the entire green macaw tribe left the stadium stands. As he left, Alonso shot Valentino and his tribe one last look mixed with scorn and smugness before turning his eyes in the direction of his flight. Then within moments, all the green macaws had disappeared into the trees. Valentino then flew over to Mercury and perched before him, a seriously disgusted look on his face. Mercury looked up at the tribe patriarch and shrank back at his angry gaze. Sapphire, Travis and Sunset looked at him in sympathy.

"Back to our ravine," growled Valentino, "NOW!"

And with that, he opened his wings and took off. Rosalind and the other Lear's tribe members followed. Mercury, at this, looked at Sapphire with sad eyes and left. Sapphire, her daughters and the cockatoo family also followed. Soon, the entire Lear's macaw tribe was back in their ravine. Mercury was put on trial before Valentino, Rosalind and their inner circle of birds. Around Mercury, Lear's macaws stood in a crowd, eyes filled with bitter scorn on the poor macaw. Only Sapphire, Travis and his family had sympathetic faces. Valentino stomped a stone with a talon on the ground three times to call for silence amongst the tribe. Whenever a disgraced tribe member was put on trial, the leader always used a stone to call for silence amongst the gathering. The sound of the stone hitting the rock echoed around the area nearby, loud enough for all gathered to hear.

"Murphy, what do you have to say for yourself?" asked Valentino angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I didn't know what happened," replied Mercury sadly, "I was trying to fly around that wall of green macaws but then something struck me in the back and made me kick the ball into the air an d the next thing I knew, one of the green macaws had kicked it straight into our team's goal."

"Well, Murphy," said Rosalind, "You have not only trespassed on Alonso's side but cost us our side of the camu-camu fruit grove as well. You really have made us look bad in front of our green macaw neighbours as a result."

Valentino and the inner circle birds nodded in agreement. Then Valentino moved on. Sapphire tried to talk but some macaws interrupted her with 'Shh' noises to tell her to be quiet.

"Murphy, you are exiled from our tribe," said Valentino with no sympathy, "Not only for trespassing on the green macaws' side and costing us our only and precious supply of camu-camu fruit but also for bringing human ties into our tribe as well."

At this, a sharp gasp was drawn in by Sapphire while Travis and Sunset looked at each other in shock, bright yellow and red, yellow and pinkish crests raised. Mercury, at this, shot Valentino a glare.

"What!?" he shouted.

"You heard me, you're EVICTED!" yelled Valentino in retort, "You are to leave our territory and never return. If my tribe members ever see you anywhere on our territory, they have my permission to chase you out, even if it means injuring you but we will NOT kill you for I have mercy. When my father led the tribe before me, he did the same but if that banished macaw was found on the territory, he always ordered they be killed without hesitation."

Nodding to Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, Valentino continued, "As for Sapphire and her daughters, they can stay since Sapphire is a relative of Rosalind and has returned after so long away from us since the fire."

This made Sapphire gasp again. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette broke down and wept while Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa looked on in appal. The other Lear's macaws, however, uttered cheering noises as they watched Mercury look down in shame. However, several, among them Waldo, looked on with saddened eyes. Rosalind then nodded to a group of four Lear's macaws and gestured with a wave of her wing. Then she extended the same wing in a point toward Mercury.

"Get that macaw outa here," she commanded, "and make sure that he doesn't return!"

The four Lear's macaws nodded in obedience and flew towards Mercury. Mercury, at this, opened his wings and rocketed off towards the ravine entrance, clearly not wanting to be dragged off and physically kicked out over a misunderstanding. As he left, boos and hisses were uttered from most of the Lear's macaws, not to mention some scathing comments that stung Mercury like a swarm of bees. Sapphire winced and flinched as she heard the poisonous words fire from her tribe-mates' beaks:

"You're useless, human's pet!"

"Traitor!"

"Get out of here and take your human connections with you, you blot!"

"This tribe has NO place for human's pets!"

These painful words propelled Mercury to fly faster towards the entrance. Behind him, some macaws flew after him to chase him out. As Mercury neared the entrance, Valentino turned to Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"You take your pink and white mate and your three chicks and get out of here as well," he growled. This was met by a confused look from the five mixed species cockatoo family's faces.

"What?" asked Travis in disbelief.

"You heard my mate, yellow crest;" snapped Rosalind, "Get your family out of our ravine this minute. Based on your unnatural appearances, you seem to be from a human's place as well."

Travis, at first, stood there in shock at this command for his family had done nothing wrong. But when he saw the bitter looks on the faces of Valentino, Rosalind and their inner circle birds clarifying their statement, Travis told Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo and within moments, the five cockatoos had lofted into flight. They followed Mercury's path through the crowd of jeering Lear's macaws. However, as Travis led his family through the crowd, his face slowly morphed from a look of shock and disbelief to a look of disapproval edged with anger and disgust as Valentino's comments toward Mercury echoed in his head. As Sapphire watched her cockatoo friends approach the entrance to the Lear's macaws' ravine, tears welled in her eyes and began running down her cheeks. Turning to Valentino who looked on with a smug face, she began to tearfully protest. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette then began to wail for Mercury, Travis and his family.

"Please, Valentino," Sapphire cried, "Mercury and the cockatoos have done nothing wrong."

Valentino's smug look, however, did not leave his face as Rosalind smiled as she saw the white, pink yellow and mixed coloured forms of Travis and his family disappear through the ravine's entrance, some Lear's macaws having seen them off.

"Good riddance," she mulled. Sapphire then became angry. She did not notice a particularly smug look on the face of Archie somewhere nearby. He appeared to be particularly glad that Mercury had been exiled.

"Don't you realise you're being prejudicial!?" Sapphire shouted to Valentino and Rosalind as they began to call for the patroller macaws to gather around them and as the Lear's macaw inhabitants returned to their usual business, "That macaw Mercury had lost his entire family as a chick! He was terribly traumatised from that awful disaster. Not only that, he was captured by poachers alongside a Spix macaw named Venus and smuggled out of Brazil to the United Kingdom…"

At this, one of the inner circle macaws ran towards Sapphire and grabbed her wings.

"Hey, don't you dare speak to your tribe patriarch like that!" he growled, "Show some respect."

"B-b-but he needs to know Mercury's backstory," snapped Sapphire, followed by a bolt of her wings to release herself from the macaw's grasp. At this, Valentino came in, an angry scowl on his face.

"Look, I am NOT interested in that human's pet and his backstory involving his time as a pet of those two-legged menaces, young lady," he growled. That did it; an enraged screech erupted from Sapphire's beak. She had her head thrown back and her wings flung up as frustration flared within her.

"Are you so ARROGANT as you are PREJUDICIAL about that macaw!?" she screeched, "It's not his time as a human's pet that is important, it's HOW he ended up as a pet in the first place!"

"Sapphire," snapped Rosalind's voice, making the long head feathered macaw turn in the voice owner's direction. Rosalind marched in and stood by Valentino, "That macaw Murphy has caused us a LOT of trouble. He has trespassed into Alonso's side, cost us our side of the camu-camu fruit grove and has brought in ties with the most hated and troublesome creature on the planet. He deserves to be exiled, so accept it!"

Sapphire glared at her first-cousin-once-removed with bitter blue eyes as she swept on.

"Now, want you to do yourself and us a favour," continued Rosalind, "I want you to stop throwing a temper tantrum like a chick and grow up, set an example to your three daughters…"

Sapphire, at this, glanced at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and returned her gaze to Rosalind.

"… go back to your hole and start adapting to life without that human's pet," added Rosalind, "He's gone now. He's not coming back. I want you to forget about him. Is that clear?"

Sapphire did not answer.

"Sapphire," shouted Valentino, making her flinch, "Rosalind asked you a question is THAT CLEAR!?"

"Yes, perfectly," growled Sapphire reluctantly. Tears welled in her eyes again as Valentino and Rosalind smiled.

"Good," said Valentino, "Now I want you to take your three daughters and return to your hole and think about what we've said. We've got a job to do with these patrollers."

Sapphire, without another second opened her wings and took off like a rocket in the direction of her and her family's hole. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, distraught over the eviction of their father, followed. Valentino and Rosalind then nonchalantly returned to face the group of gathered patrollers to prepare to divide them into smaller groups to send out a few at a time. Sapphire continued flapping like mad towards the entrance of her hole, tears falling from her face like two mini waterfalls. As she crashed-landed on the ledge of her hollow's entrance, Waldo flew past. Waldo's face was flooded with sympathy as he watched his half-sister then scramble into the hollow with her three daughters closely behind. Then all movement outside Mercury and Sapphire's hollow ceased but the atmosphere was then filled by the sobbing of an adult female Lear's macaw and three baby Lear's macaw girls. Waldo then slowed his flight into a hover and began glancing from Sapphire and Mercury's hollow to the gathered patrol group around Rosalind and Valentino and back again several times. He wanted to visit Sapphire but he did not want to anger Valentino by not turning up for the patrol job for Valentino hated lateness. With a sigh escaping his beak, Waldo decided to check on Sapphire later and headed off to join the other patrol birds as the tribe leaders placed them into groups and sent them out. At this moment, Mercury was whizzing through the Lear's macaws' territory like a goshawk. Like Sapphire, tears were also falling down his face in large quantities. Mercury's feelings were deeply lacerated by Valentino and Rosalind's lack of consideration of his history, especially of how he ended up as a human's pet in the UK in the first place. As the male Lear's macaw continued zooming through the trees at breakneck speed, Travis and Sunset were trying to catch up to him. They had Eustace, Rosa and Milo in their talons once again for they were too small to fly at speeds like this. However, the gap between the two adult cockatoos and Mercury up ahead was widening for the macaw was flying much, much faster than the cockatoos. Furthermore, the cockatoos were struggling to dodge the obstacles of the cluttered jungle and once, Travis had to tackle Sunset in the side to help her dodge a branch.

"Mercury," called Travis as he panted for breath and tried beating his wings harder to increase his speed. His talons kept a firm grip on Rosa and Eustace while Sunset who flew alongside Travis's left carried Milo. Sunset was also panting for breath as she beat her wings at a high pace as well. The two adult cockatoos then dodge another branch protruding into the air.

"Mercury, wait up!" cried the Major Mitchell's cockatoo in the split-second space she had before her demand for oxygen overtook her again. Mercury up ahead, however, did not slow down and continued flying through the trees like a rocket. Travis and Sunset couldn't believe it. Mercury had the speed and agility similar to a tree-living bird of prey. He was the fastest flyer of Jupiter's group and also the most agile. His speed and agility exceeded even that of Jewel. However, it was possible that Mercury's agility had been sharpened during his, Travis and Sunset's time as pets in the UK from years of flying in a cluttered environment. Shaking off these thoughts, Sunset and Travis continued chasing Mercury through the jungle in a futile attempt to catch up to him.

"Hang on, kids," cried Travis as he and Sunset began to dodge some more tree branches. The three sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's hybrids did so as their parents began to weave in and out of any obstructing branches.

 **Meanwhile**

The entire camu-camu fruit grove, including the side that was now formerly the Lear's tribe's section, was swarmed with green shapes with red foreheads, green, blue and yellow wings and blue, red and yellow tails. The green plumages were almost invisible against the ocean of green leaves of the bushes but the red and blue parts of the great green and military macaws stuck out brilliantly like the brightly coloured skins of poison dart frogs. The green macaw tribe had gathered at the camu-camu fruit grove to feast on the camu-camu fruit as a celebration of their victory against the Lear's macaws in the Pit of Doom. In one area, Lewin, Luis and Amelia and some of their friends were chomping through some of the bright red and yellow-green fruit and gossiping about the Lear's macaws.

"Did you see the look on Valentino and Rosalind's faces, guys?" laughed Lewin as he took a bite out of the flesh of one camu-camu, "Honestly, the two looked like they had seen a monstrous predator when their tribe lost!"

As he finished this sentence, the group burst out laughing, some rolling onto their backs. Amelia flailed her legs in the air before rolling back onto her feet, taking a moment to breathe after that bolt of laughter.

"You should have also seen the look on Monique's face as I picked up the final dragonfruit for the final goal," she said, "She was in total shock indeed."

"Well, I'm glad those Lear's brats are in total shock," tittered Luis, "We did an excellent job in defeating them for the entire camu-camu fruit grove. Too bad those Lear's brats have lost their side of this precious grove."

He then leaned back against a tree trunk and crossed his talons, a camu-camu fruit in one wing. "I wouldn't be surprised if those dark blue and teal macaws are in their cliff-face hollows and few trees sulking."

The others in the group nodded with wide smiles of smug looks on their faces. Throughout the camu-camu fruit grove, dozens more great green and military macaws were feasting and chatting, also mostly about the Lear's macaw tribe and their reaction to losing their side of the camu-camu fruit grove. The green macaw tribe was the only flock of green macaws to have great green macaws live in Brazil as great green macaws were normally found in Central America. It was believed that the green macaw tribe had entirely consisted of military macaws until some of the great green macaws had migrated south east from Central America, presumably driven by some disaster partly caused by poaching and habitat loss and had settled in the Amazon where they mixed with the militaries who kindly took them in. Since then, the green macaw tribe had always been a mixture of great green and military macaws with the two species sometimes interbreeding. While the flock of green macaws continued feasting on the camu-camu, there were some green macaws that were not happy. While Luis and Lewin continued feasting on some camu-camu with their friends, Drake, a male great green macaw and a friend of Lewin, Luis and Amelia, heard the sounds of an argument a few metres away. At this, he stopped eating and listened.

"What is it, Drake?" asked Amelia.

"That's Alonso in the distance," replied Drake, "He sounds very upset with someone."

As he said this, the argument sounds became louder and soon, the arguers came into view. Drake, the twin brothers and Amelia then looked in their direction. To their surprise, it was Alonso and he was arguing with a family of great green macaws, a family of seven. Luis then recognised the adult female macaw.

"It's Esmeralda and her family," he said with a gasp. Drake frowned.

"Oh, I think Alonso is very cross with her and her mate, Yuri or whatever his name is," He muttered, "For comforting one of those Lear's macaws in the Pit after we had won the match."

Lewin, Luis and Amelia looked at him and then back at the argument between Alonso and the family of macaws which were Esmeralda, Uranus and their five chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. Alonso did indeed look very upset. His blue eyes were flooded with disapproval and rage, especially when they saw Esmeralda and Uranus console Mercury, a Lear's macaw. During the green macaw tribe's journey back to their home patch and then to the camu-camu fruit grove, Esmeralda had told Alonso and Verde everything. She had told Alonso that she was now Sapphire's best friend and how she had met Uranus, besides Uranus's domestic background his being raised in another country across the Atlantic Ocean. However, Esmeralda's explanation had not received a very positive reaction from the green tribe patriarch.

"I can't believe that you're now _friends_ with one of our enemy neighbours, young lady," snarled Alonso, "You should know BETTER!"

"Look, it's true we were enemies but during our adventure in Rio," snapped Esmeralda angrily, "we HAD to put aside our enmity to help defend each other and our friends from those smugglers and their cats!"

"It's true that we sometimes help our Lear's enemies when they're in danger such as during that fire when you were younger," snapped Alonso, "But hanging out with any of them is forbidden! Get this into your head, Esmeralda, that Sapphire is a brat."

Esmeralda flinched at this remark before Uranus stepped in. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon kept quiet. They were too young to take part in an argument over a big and complicated matter like this.

"For your information, Alonso," growled Uranus in defence of Sapphire, "She's now no longer a brat towards Esmeralda here…"

"You, human's pet," shouted Alonso, interrupting Uranus's sentence, "Have NO right to speak to your tribe patriarch like that!"

Uranus tried to protest but Alonso swept on. "And you certainly have NO right to speak for our pesky Lear's macaw neighbours. What you and your mate have done in the Pit of Doom was an absolute disgrace. You both ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

Esmeralda, however, kept her angered look. She then stole a glance at the camu-camu fruit grove dotted with dozens and dozens and dozens of green birds with blue, red and yellow feathers and markings. She then began to address the most difficult situation of all: the conflict between the green tribe and the Lear's.

"As for the feud between our tribe and Valentino's," Esmeralda said, "Don't you realise that it is getting both of our tribes nowhere? Why can't we just make peace rather than continue the feud like how the Spix and the red tribes did?"

"That's right," agreed Uranus.

Alonso's face, at this, changed from anger to brief shock before anger then returned to his face.

"What did you just say, you two?" he growled disgustedly.

"Our tribes need to stop this conflict," replied Esmeralda, "Especially over food and space such as the camu-camu fruit grove…"

"We've won the entire grove, fair and square," snapped Alonso angrily. He was starting to become infuriated now. "The Lear's macaws are gonna have to find alternative food sources to make up for the camu-camu they had lost. It's a consequence they are gonna suffer for allowing one of their members to cross the boundary and into our side."

He then perched on a tree nearby with Esmeralda, Uranus and their five chicks just over the flowing stream that formerly marked the boundary between the territories of the Lear's and green tribes.

"Now I will have no more of this immature behaviour, you two," continued Alonso, a pointed wing to Esmeralda and Uranus, "And certainly no more associations with those navy blue birds. If I EVER hear ANY report of you two or your five chicks associating with any of the Lear's macaws, you are gonna be evicted. Is that understood?"

Uranus and Esmeralda said nothing.

"I said is THAT UNDERSTOOD!?" yelled Alonso in a louder voice. Esmeralda then narrowed her eyes.

"We're not gonna live here unless you resolve the conflict between your tribe and the Lear's macaws!" she hissed. Alonso, at this, flinched and made an appalled look. Behind him, his mate Verde was flying in. Then Esmeralda took Uranus's wing and scooped up her five chicks.

"Let's go, Uranus and my daughters and son," she said and with that, she took off, followed by Uranus, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, leaving a shocked Alonso to look on. Verde then perched beside her mate and looked on as Esmeralda and her family flew off through the trees.

"I can't believe the change of attitude Esmeralda seemed to have developed since we lost her in that fire all those years ago," Verde said, a frowned look gazing after the family of seven as they disappeared into the trees. Alonso just looked at her, his beak hung open and totally stuck in the mud of speechlessness. Esmeralda continued flying through the trees with her family in tow. She had a quizzical look on her face.

"What is it, Es?" asked Uranus upon seeing that look. Then Esmeralda's talon rose to her chin while in flight.

"I'm thinking about Mercury's crossing into our side, Uranus," she said. Uranus stopped into a hover with the five chicks hovering around him.

"Are you saying that he didn't wander into our side deliberately?" he asked. Esmeralda then stopped and shot Uranus a frown.

"I don't think he did," she replied. She then perched onto a nearby branch to ponder over Mercury's incident more. Uranus and the five chicks flew in and perched around her.

"When I found that Mercury was on our side," said Esmeralda, suspicion glinting in her eyes, "He appeared to have been following a trail of Lear's feathers. Now I'm wondering… what if someone else had lured Mercury into crossing over to our side by planting that trail of feathers just to get him into trouble with us?"

Uranus, at this, felt shock and surprise bubble within him.

"Is that so!?" he snapped in disbelief. Esmeralda gave him a confirmatory look, implying that the statement was true. Uranus glared back at her in surprise.

 **Meanwhile**

Back in the Lear's macaws' ravine, Sapphire was still in her hollow, crying her eyes out over Mercury's unfair eviction. Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine had snuggled around her to comfort her and Sapphire had her wings around them, her eyes stream with tears. They had just lost their father and Sapphire had lost her mate. There was no way Mercury was able to return now since Valentino had stationed sentry macaws outside the ravine and had sent patrollers out to make sure that he had left the territory entirely. While the four macaws continued crying, a burly Lear's macaw with green eyes flew by. His attention was caught by the sounds of Sapphire and her daughters' sobbing, so he stopped into a hover and perched on the ledge leading to the entrance of Sapphire's hollow. When Archie saw the sobbing Sapphire, he knocked on the wall near the entrance's rim.

"Go away," wailed Sapphire.

"It's me, Archie," said Archie sympathetically. He did not like seeing her cry and wanted to comfort her. "You've been sobbing for a while now and I just wanted to make sure you are alright."

He then slowly walked into the hollow towards the sobbing Sapphire and her daughters and gently put a comforting wing on her shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Sapphire looked up at him with tear-stained eyes. However, the tears continued to flow.

"Is it about the loss of our side of the camu-camu fruit grove?" asked Archie, "I know a lot of the Lear's macaws are very upset about that, especially Valentino. He's just been sending out patrol groups to look for any food sources to replace them."

He then sat down and placed a wing on his forehead. "It's going to be difficult adapting to life with a diet excluding the camu-camu. We've had that grove side for years only for that human's pet to cost us of it."

With a sigh, Archie then flopped a wing down and looked once again at the tearful eyed Sapphire and her daughters. Sapphire sighed and decided to talk to Archie about what was upsetting her and her daughters.

"It's nothing to do with the loss of our side of the camu-camu fruit grove," she said in a strangled voice. Archie looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean it's nothing to do with the loss of our side of the camu-camu grove?" he asked, "You SHOULD be upset about that loss. That camu-camu grove was the only source of that fruit rich in vitamin C. It's all because of that moron Murphy who stepped into Alonso's side that we are in this utter mess."

Sapphire just looked at Archie and said nothing, before bowing her head and shedding more tears. Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine also continued to weep. Archie then grinned as he thought about Mercury's eviction.

"Well, I'm glad that Murphy has gone," he said smugly, "He was a right menace with his ties with those humans."

However, Archie was also smug for another reason. Turning to Sapphire again, he said, "And you should be glad that Murphy's gone as well. He's no good for you with his background as a human's pet. Why not do yourself a favour and find another male to be your mate? There are plenty of male macaws in the tribe who are suitable for taking that pet's place. And they're wild-born and had lived all their lives as wild macaws as well so you won't have to worry about being the mate of a macaw with a domesticated history."

Sapphire did not reply. Archie then smiled as his blue eyes fell on the upset Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.

"But if you feel that none of the other male macaws are suitable for you, I'm more than happy to take that former mate's place of yours," he said, "After all, your three daughters could do with a father figure in your family now that Murphy's not gonna come back."

Sapphire, at this, looked up at Archie in disbelief and distaste.

"If you think you're gonna take Mercury's place as my mate, Archie, you've got another thing coming," she growled, anger boiling through the heartbreak. She then stole a glance at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and continued, "And besides that, Mercury is the father of these three girls."

Looking back at Archie, Sapphire continued, "But finding another mate to replace Mercury is an option but ONLY if Mercury has died, but I'm not gonna throw away my bond with Mercury just because he's a pet, especially after knowing his tragic backstory of how he became a pet in the first place. I've chosen him as my lifelong mate and he has chosen me!"

Archie glared at Sapphire before raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Okay, so tell me, how did you and that pet meet?"

Sapphire then glared at Archie bitterly before relenting. "We met in Rio de Janeiro, a human city."

"A human city!?" repeated Archie in shock and disgust.

"We were the only known pair of Lear's macaws in that part of Brazil," said Sapphire, "Humans over there who study birds, called ornithologists, and conservationists had set up a sanctuary near that city and were trying to help start a population of Lear's macaws on it to help preserve the Lear's macaw's species."

Archie reacted in distaste. "So those humans over there were trying to breed some Lear's macaws there?"

"When I had been found by some of those humans, I was the only female Lear's macaw known in that area," continued Sapphire, "So I was taken in alongside Zephyr and Brisa from the Spix macaw tribe and a female glaucous macaw named Lapis Lazuli."

"I remember how Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa and the latter two's parents Tornado and Gael had been torn from the Spix macaw tribe," said Archie, "Just like how you were from our tribe and Esmeralda from the green macaws…"

"So we were taken to a breeding chamber and held there for a while," said Sapphire, "and then later, Mercury, Venus and Pluto were imported. Venus is a Spix macaw with a similar backstory to Mercury and Pluto is another glaucous macaw. Mercury and I didn't get along at all at first but we eventually became friends and eventually mates."

"Let me get this straight," said Archie, "You met Mercury because of those humans?"

"Yes," snapped Sapphire angrily, "And because we were the only two Lear's macaws living near Rio, and I had doubts that you and the rest of the Lear's tribe was still alive. During our friendship time before we fell in love and became mates, I learned of Mercury's backstory…"

"Well, you still shouldn't have fallen in love with a pet, Sapphire," said Archie angrily, "Pets have a bad reputation because of their ties with humans, the creatures that destroy the environment and steal animals just to sell."

"Mercury was one of those animals taken out of his home by poachers as a chick," snapped Sapphire, "Along with Venus. Pluto was also stolen from his natural home as a chick as well, though he could not remember much of his past before being taken to the UK."

Tears then welled in Sapphire's eyes as heartbreak began to manifest itself once again.

"And here's one thing I learned about the in-laws I know I will never meet," she snarled in a strangled voice, "Mercury's family had dreamed of finding others like themselves out here in the Amazon and that dream was made reality! Venus's family also had the same dream of finding more Spix macaws but Blu and his family had done it for them. Mercury's parents and siblings wouldn't have wanted their son or brother kicked out of this tribe just because of his background as a pet. It was not his fault that he ended up as a pet in the first place…"

Sapphire then made a guilty look. "I know I have scorned him for being a pet as well but now I know better, especially after learning about his backstory…"

She then broke down into another bout of sobbing. Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine wept nearby.

"Daddy," moaned Phoebe.

"I wish he was here," moaned Jasmine.

"Where is Dad?" moaned Annette. Then the four macaws sobbed again. Archie then tried to place a comforting wing on Sapphire's shoulder but Sapphire flinched, not wanting his comfort in any way, shape or form. Then after finishing this bout of sobbing and wiping her eyes, which were now red from crying so much, of tears, Sapphire sniffled.

"But I'm wondering," she murmured in a broken voice, "How did those navy blue feathers appear that led Mercury into crossing over into Alonso's side."

Archie's eyes blinked with curiosity and confusion. However, the mentioning of the navy blue feathers had pricked him slightly. "Navy blue feathers?"

"Mercury said that he had found a trail of navy blue feathers mysteriously appearing out of nowhere with no other Lear's macaws about," said Sapphire, "This was shortly after the incident."

Archie just smiled and said, "Well, that's not important. Murphy has cost us our side of the camu-camu fruit grove and has received his lifelong punishment of eviction. Let's not worry about that, shall we?"

Archie then prepared to make his way toward the entrance to Sapphire's hollow to leave. However, as he left, he wore a smug look on his face and muttered something to himself in a quiet whisper. However, that whisper must have carried for Sapphire had quite sharp hearing. Sapphire looked at Archie with a frown on her face.

"What did you just say?" she asked suspiciously. Archie, at this, turned and faced Sapphire and when he saw the suspicious look on her face, he flinched.

"Oh, um… nothing, Sapphire," he said with a smile on his face, hoping that this look of innocence would disguise the guilt. Sapphire, however, wasn't fooled. She felt something was amiss. Then it dawned upon Sapphire. She had sometimes seen Archie glare distastefully at Mercury whenever he flew past them, and she had sensed that these glares had more than just distaste thrown in them. Then Sapphire began to question Archie.

"I don't suppose you had something to do with that innocent involving Mercury crossing into the green tribe's territory, did you?" she asked in a low and suspicious voice. Archie, at this, began to look around as though he wanted to escape, but Sapphire could clearly see the guilt emanating from his behaviour.

"Oh, I-I-I-I had nothing to d-d-d-do with that," he said timidly. Sapphire then began to deduce how that trail of navy blue feathers had appeared at the Lear's/green border.

"Someone else must have followed Mercury to the camu-camu fruit grove and had planted those navy blue feathers just to lure him into Alonso's side," she said, her blue eyes gazing down at the floor, "And must have crossed into Alonso's side first and remained hidden so that Mercury could end up caught by Alonso and some of the other green macaws."

Archie, at this, began to quiver.

"H-h-honestly, that wasn't me," he said, "Mercury was the one who crossed the border, not me…"

However, guilt was emanating so much from his behaviour that it penetrated through the ruse, like a jaguar's sudden movement in the bush and the shifting of vegetation nearby resulting in its cover being blown. Sapphire then glared at Archie once again, a suspicious eyebrow raised.

"It's not like you to collect moulted Lear's macaw feathers and making a trail to lure a fellow tribe member over the Lear's/green border, deliberately crossing that border first into the green tribe's land in the process…"

"I-I-I would never do such a thing," Archie said, trying to deny it but Sapphire knew from his body language that he was lying. The shaking of his wings and look on his face clearly indicated this.

"And apparently," added Sapphire, "during the Pit of Doom match, a member of our team ploughed into Mercury from behind while he was trying to dribble the ball past Paolo the goalie to make him kick the ball upward for one of the green macaws to shoot it into our goal and make the final score for the green macaws…"

"Oh, that was an accident," protested Archie but his body language suggested otherwise. During the closing moments of the match, a fellow team member had rammed into Mercury from behind while he was trying to dribble the ball past Paolo to get around some green macaws. The force was so great that it had made Mercury unintentionally kick the ball vertically into the air for one of the green macaws to shoot into the Lear's macaws' goal. Some of the Lear's macaws watching had reported that the foul was caused by a burly macaw. Realisation on who made Mercury kick the ball into the air, as well as get him into trouble with the green macaws at the camu-camu grove, then dawned upon Sapphire and she shot Archie a furious glare.

"Archie, what DID YOU DO!? WHY DID YOU DO SUCH A THING!?" she bellowed. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette backed away as they saw their mother beginning to boil in anger. Archie, seeing that there was no way to further disguise his guilt, finally admitted to the furious Sapphire.

"O-o-o-oh, well you see," he timidly replied, fearful that Sapphire was going to lunge at him, "I-I-I did not like that human's p-p-p-pet being your mate and… I wanted to get rid of him so that I could be with you like how we had been when we were chicks…"

"You mean you got Mercury into trouble with the green macaws so that he could be evicted!?" snarled Sapphire. Archie timidly nodded. Sapphire's eyes then began to erupt like blue volcanoes and her anger finally flared up like a fireball in a flammable gas.

"Don't you realise that you have cost us our side of the camu-camu fruit grove by getting an innocent macaw who is new to the tribe into TROUBLE!?" shouted the enraged macaw, her hair-like feathers rose near their base. If they were shorter, like Roberto's, Sapphire would look more terrifying.

"He's a PET!" retorted Archie angrily, "He does not deserve to be in this tribe! Certainly not with YOU!"

"It all makes sense now," said Sapphire, "It wasn't Mercury who crossed into the green tribe's territory first…" she then glared furiously at Archie, "…it was YOU!"

Archie flinched as Sapphire began to lambast him, a torrent of furious words spitting from her beak. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette shrank back, frightened as their mother finally let her anger loose.

"YOU had been the one to get Mercury into so much trouble, luring him over the Lear's/green border into the green tribe's side, and deliberately tackling him to make him kick the ball into the air for one of the green macaws to kick and score the final tiebreaking goal, resulting in our side of the camu-camu grove being lost to the green macaws! You INCONSIDERATE, FOOLISH…"

As Sapphire began to call Archie every word she could think of, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette covered their ears to block out the music. Archie then fell to the floor backwards. He tried to protest but Sapphire towered over him and swept on.

"YOU should have been the one to have been evicted, not Mercury," snarled Sapphire, a pointed talon shooting at Archie's beak like a dragonfly, "I can't believe what DAMAGE you have done to my family! You have not only broken my heart, but also cost my three daughters their FATHER…"

She gestured to Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, who continued watching the scene. Archie looked at the three chicks and said nothing. Outside the hollow entrance, another Lear's macaw was standing by the rim of the hole, listening. The Lear's macaw had a slender build, a feather flick on his head and teal eyes. Waldo had come to listen in on Archie and Sapphire's conversation after hearing Sapphire confirm her suspicions of Archie being the guilty one. When he heard what Sapphire had said and what Archie had confessed, he reacted in utter shock. Then after giving Archie a piece of her mind in the form of words, Sapphire finished the heated confrontation by ordering Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette to gather around her.

"But Sapphire," protested Archie but the only response he got was silence. Sapphire then took her three daughters towards the hollow entrance.

"Where are you going?" asked Archie. Sapphire glared back at the burly macaw and her former friend.

"To FIND MERCURY, REGARDLESS OF WHAT VALENTINO SAYS!" she screeched. Then without another second's hesitation, Sapphire wrapped her talons around her three daughters and spread her wings on the ledge.

"Hold on, you three," Sapphire commanded her three daughters. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette obeyed. They were too young to fly at high speeds and Sapphire had planned to fly like mad to find Mercury out in the expanses of the Lear's macaws' territory. As Sapphire then lofted into flight, she did not see Waldo who had pressed his back against the wall bordering the rim of the hole to prevent Sapphire from seeing him. Then with a flap of her wings, Sapphire lofted into flight and made a beeline for the ravine entrance. Then Archie's form appeared.

"Sapphire," he called, "You know Valentino won't tolerate disobedience!"

However, Sapphire was soon out of earshot. Archie looked on in shock as he watched Sapphire's form disappear out of the ravine's main entrance hole.

"Rosalind's not gonna like this," murmured Archie in a low voice.

"She and Valentino aren't gonna like what you've done, Archie," snarled a male voice behind him. Archie turned and found himself greeted by a furious look on Waldo's face.

"Oh, Waldo," said Archie in surprise, "I did not see you."

"I've heard everything," said Waldo, fury burning in his teal eyes, "Including that deliberate foul that caused Murphy to kick the ball up into the air. You don't realise what trouble you've caused us… and for Sapphire's family especially."

Archie tried to protest but Waldo opened his wings.

"I'm gonna tell Valentino and Rosalind what you've done," he snarled and with that, he lofted into flight, leaving Archie to stand there on the ledge, flooded with guilt and shock.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19- Big problems**

In the patch of jungle where the glaucous macaws lived, Pluto had been training how to forage for food and had done the sessions well, much to the impress of Santiago, Beatrice and Henri, his trainers. The training session was now over and the four glaucous macaws were on their way back to the main patch where the rest of the tribe was.

"You really do know how to forage for food well, Pluto," said Santiago with a proud smile on his face, "Despite being new, you have exceeded our expectations really well."

"Thanks," said Pluto as he humbly accepted the praise.

"You'll soon be properly initiated into our tribe," said Beatrice. Pluto then examined the jungle that flowed by.

"Have you always had to forage like this since you became homeless?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," said Henri who flew on his left, "Ever since those flying furballs drove us out, we were forced to settle somewhere until we can find a place we can truly call home."

"That disaster involving those flying foxes must have been even worse and terrifying than the fire," said Pluto as the thought of facing a massive flock of bats whose heights were bigger than a glaucous macaw, smaller than a hyacinth macaw sent shivers down his spine and crawling sensations through his skin.

"It was," said Beatrice, a dark look on her face, "The fire caused random damage to trees but those bats attacked us directly. We lost quite a number of our tribe members during that invasion."

Pluto shuddered at what the glaucous macaws had been through with those flying foxes. But then a question entered his head: why didn't the glaucous macaws sought help from any of the other bird tribes or clans after losing their home? Surely Eduardo, Felipe, Alonso or Soleado, or perhaps Demetrio, Reynaldo or Flavio wouldn't have minded taking the glaucous macaws in. However, Rudi had decided against that as he believed that this many macaws might lead to competition for food and space and had moved out here instead without any of the nearby tribe and clan's knowledge. Because of this, the Spix macaw tribe and their neighbours have come to the conclusion that the glaucous macaws had been entirely slaughtered by the flying foxes. While Pluto thought about these things, Santiago's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Humans, get down!" he shouted. At this, Pluto felt a wing grab his and he was dragged down towards a cluster of leaves. Henri had grabbed him. After Henri and Pluto, Beatrice and Santiago took cover in some more leaf clusters nearby. Then Santiago parted the leaves of his hiding place and looked down. Beatrice, Henri and Pluto did the same. In this clearing of trees, four two-legged creatures were talking about something with one of them having just walked in and joined the group. They were all men and one of them must have been out in the clutter of vegetation based on how tired he looked.

"Have you found anything yet, Jeremy?" asked one of the man's friends. The tired man shook his head.

"No, Jonathan," he replied, "I cannot find any more evidence of any glaucous macaws anywhere at all. They must be so well hidden. They are here, I'm sure of it. Remember that flash of turquoise and grey we saw?"

"Yes," said another man, "We managed to capture a picture of it but it wasn't very clear."

Santiago frowned.

"Don't tell me that pesky group is still looking for us, are they?" he asked.

"It seems like it," said Beatrice. Henri then let loose a sigh.

"If our existence is known, we're going to get human attention faster than a wildfire," he muttered, "We must monitor them closely."

Pluto, at this, continued gazing at the four humans below.

"They're not poachers," he said, "They're conservationists. They only want to find us to protect us from population collapse caused by logging and poaching."

This was met by a disbelieving glare from his three trainers.

"What do you mean find us to protect us?" asked Santiago suspiciously.

"You mean poach us?" added Beatrice. Pluto looked up at them. However, he said the next sentence without thinking.

"Back in Rio," he said, "Lapis Lazuli and I were the only known glaucous macaws alive until we had four chicks. We…"

"Oh, don't tell me you've been living in a place in which those wretched two-legged pests call a city, do you!?" snarled Santiago.

"And don't tell us that Lapis Lazuli has allowed herself to become contaminated by the touch of those menaces as well, has she!?" added Beatrice.

"We would rather have those humans believe that we are extinct rather than have our existence known," growled Henri bitterly, "You know what will happen if those humans ever discover our existence?"

Pluto tried to answer but found his tongue stuck in his throat.

"If those humans ever discover our existence," explained Henri, anger and hatred for humans saturating his face, "They will likely send in poachers to hunt us down and try and catch us due to our species' rarity. We have had too much of that in our history before the fire and the flying fox incident and we don't want to face going through that again."

"I lost my older brother to poachers when I was an adolescent," said Beatrice angrily, "we were on an outing and my older brother ended up in a trap and was caught by that group of animal thieves. We haven't seen him again since."

Then Santiago became suspicious.

"I'm wondering if there is more to your interaction with humans than simply just living in Rio…" he said in a low voice. Pluto, at this, immediately deduced where Santiago was getting to. Then Santiago's eyes blinked as it hit him.

"You were a human's pet, weren't you?" guessed Santiago, "If you've been living in Rio, then that means you must have been living as one."

Pluto, at this, flinched and blinked at this (correct) guess. He tried to open his beak to deny it but couldn't. Henri and Beatrice then made scowls on their faces as they read his body language and reluctance to speak.

"It seems like he has been living as a pet," said Beatrice. Henri then sighed.

"Rudi and Valeria are NOT going to tolerate this," he muttered. "As for Lapis Lazuli, she's in serious trouble."

Pluto, at this, began to protest after finding some words as anger screened his timidity.

"Hey, it wasn't her fault that she wound up in Rio after those bats separated her from you," he retorted.

"Well Lapis Lazuli should have known better," said Santiago, "She was an adolescent macaw at the time so she should have had some decent sense. Young chicks are helpless for they don't know much about the outside world, but adolescent macaws do. Let's get back to our tribe!"

And with that, he lofted into flight, Henri and Beatrice in tow. Pluto let loose a sigh and followed. A little while later, back at the main makeshift 'home' of the glaucous macaws, Lapis Lazuli was returning home with her four chicks Charon, Quincy, Blueberry and Flor after an outing in the jungle. She wanted to introduce the jungle to the chicks so that they were prepared for their life in the wild when they become old enough to leave their parents' side into independence. However, the five were in for an awful surprise. As Lapis Lazuli entered the trees in which the glaucous tribe was staying in, her four chicks in tow, a group of glaucous macaws were perched on a branch, their eyes glaring at her. With the group was Valeria, Lapis Lazuli's cousin-in-law. Lapis Lazuli stopped into a hover, her four chicks behind her.

"Hi, Valeria," she said but the response she received was Valeria narrowing her eyes.

"What's going on?" asked Lapis Lazuli.

"Come this way," snapped Valeria angrily and with that, she lofted into flight, followed by the others with her. Lapis Lazuli, at this, looked on in confusion.

"What's happened, Mom?" asked Blueberry.

"Let's just follow Valeria and see," replied Lapis Lazuli and with that, the five proceeded. Soon, Lapis Lazuli and the four chicks found a large gathering of glaucous macaws in the branches of a large tree but when her eyes landed on one glaucous macaw held by two more macaws like how security guards would hold a thief caught red-handed, horror exploded within her. Lapis Lazuli and the four chicks shot off down towards the apprehended macaw.

"Pluto!" she cried.

"Dad!" cried the four chicks. As the five reached the tree and touched down, they were greeted by an angered face of Rudi. Pluto saw her with a frightened look on his face as two macaws held him firmly. He struggled to pull his wings free but his holders refuse to loosen their grip. Thankfully he was not covered in cuts and bruises for he had been too frightened to fight back.

"What's going on?" asked Lapis Lazuli. Rudi's violet eyes then travelled to the timid and struggling Pluto and said, "Pluto, tell her."

Pluto, at this, said nothing at first, while Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor wore incredulous faces. Finally, Pluto spoke.

"These macaws don't like my history as a human's pet macaw," the dwarf planet named macaw murmured. Much like the Lear's macaw tribe, the glaucous macaw tribe had a bitter hatred for humans. Only it was more pronounced than that of the navy blue and teal tinted faced birds. Pluto had kept his history as a pet a secret from the glaucous macaws but now it was out in the open… with bitter results. When Lapis Lazuli realised that her tribe had apprehended Pluto because of his domestic history, she was filled with disapproval and anger.

"Look, I can explain," she protested. At this, Valeria approached her with an enraged look on her face.

"You can explain where you've been wandering all these years ago since Rodrigo's failed rescue of you from those bats," she growled.

Lapis Lazuli blinked in surprise. Rodrigo appeared to have told Rudi and Valeria the truth of what really happened between him and Lapis Lazuli after they were separated from the other glaucous macaws during the flying foxes' siege on their home and subsequent chase by some of those bats through the jungle. In the crowd of gathered glaucous macaws, Rodrigo wore a very guilty facial expression. He knew he had no excuses this time and felt truly guilty about selfishly leaving Lapis Lazuli to escape from their furred attackers entirely on her own to save his own skin. Rudi was planning on punishing him after he and his tribe had dealt with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli then took a step back, her four chicks hiding behind her, eyes filled with fear at the sight of their angry first-cousin-once-removed and his mate. Rudi then paced towards his cousin, his violet eyes boiling with disapproval, disgust and distaste like the churning and turbulent water of a rapid on the Amazon River.

"You ought to tell us where you ended up and how you met a macaw that has lived with humans, cousin," he growled. Lapis Lazuli, at this, glared back at Rudi, disgust at his attitude clearly visible.

"Are you blaming me for getting lost and winding up in a human's place, Rudi?" she replied curtly. From Rudi's facial expression, the answer 'yes' was certain. Valeria then eyed Charon, Quincy, Blueberry and Flor as they cowered behind Lapis Lazuli.

"And I don't suppose you've had those chicks while in that human's place, have you?" she asked. Rudi then glanced back at the restrained Pluto who still wore a frightened look on his face.

"Based on the information about that macaw's history with humans, it would seem so," he said. At this, sharp gasps were drawn in by many of the glaucous macaws in the surrounding crowd.

"A brood of glaucous macaw chicks bred in captivity!" shouted one in disgust. Then more macaws began to shout disapproving comments at Lapis Lazuli as Rudi then gave her another stink eye again.

"I cannot believe that you have paired up with a human's pet and had chicks with him… right inside a human's place," he snarled. The glaucous macaws in the surrounding crowd looked at each other in shock.

"Um, actually," said Pluto, "We lived in a patch of jungle outside a human's place, not in it..."

This did not change the attitude of the crowd and they continued gazing at one another in shock and disgust. Lapis Lazuli, at this, began to protest defensively.

"Look, it's not what you think," she said, "You see, I was seriously lost after managing to shake off those bats…"

"That's absolutely true, Lapis," interrupted Valeria brusquely, "But you should have known better than allow yourself to be captured by humans."

"It was just a slip up," protested Lapis Lazuli, angrier this time, "I was trying to escape that group of humans but they managed to catch me and bring me into some sort of breeding chamber where I met Pluto…"

This was met by more sharp gasps in the crowd.

"Let me get this straight," said Rudi, "Are you saying that you were caught by humans and brought to one of those buildings of theirs!?"

Before Lapis Lazuli could answer, Pluto found some words to speak and set to it before timidity overtook him and stuck his tongue in his beak again.

"Those humans brought Lapis Lazuli into that breeding chamber so that she could pair up with me and have chicks," he said. Rudi and Valeria, at this, shot Pluto a bitter glare while yet more gasps rolled through the glaucous macaw crowd. Pluto swept on.

"It was for conservation purposes," he continued, "Those humans, bird studiers called ornithologists, thought that Lapis Lazuli and I were the last pair of glaucous macaws alive and they wanted to save our species from extinction by ensuring that we successfully paired up and had chicks."

Lapis Lazuli reluctantly nodded in agreement to this statement. She wasn't keen on the idea of breeding and having chicks just to save the glaucous macaw species. But then she began to speak. Elevating herself by climbing onto a higher branch, Lapis Lazuli began to shout her explanation so that all the glaucous macaws could hear.

"You see, our species is in mortal danger of going extinct. Out here, we are more vulnerable to getting killed by habitat destruction through logging or captured by poachers for we are not in the sanctuary set up by some humans, called ecologists, who had the intensions of protecting the Spix macaw tribe and the surrounding bird flocks and animals from population collapse through poaching or habitat loss…"

Murmurings then emanated from the sea of turquoise and blue birds with grey heads and yellow facial features. Valeria and Rudi then raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Before Eduardo's tribe was eventually discovered, the Spix macaws' land used to be vulnerable to destruction caused by logging, as well as poacher intrusions," said Pluto, his holders looking on with quizzical faces as they kept a firm grip on his wings, "It is because of humans who care for the environment who have set up the Spix macaws' land and the land of surrounding bird tribes and clans that they are now safer from poaching and logging. Eduardo thought that his tribe would be safer if they kept hidden from humans but it turned out to be the wrong decision and had revealed himself and his tribe's existence to the humans who care for the environment…"

"Now that the Spix macaws are under protection," continued Lapis Lazuli, "Ecologists are now trying to search for us glaucous macaws in the hopes of including us in their sanctuary too."

This was immediately met by scornful laughing, alongside booing and hissing, from many of the glaucous macaws and a shake of the head from Rudi.

"Are you meaning to say that we should make ourselves known to those pesky two-legged menaces?" growled Valeria in equal distaste.

"I'm afraid so," said Pluto boldly, "I know it sounds difficult but we have to trust these humans. They know what they are doing in their work…"

However, these words did not move the stubborn belief and prejudice the glaucous macaw tribe had for humans. Protests and jeering against the idea of revealing themselves then erupted from the crowd as Valeria then shot Pluto a glare.

"You've got to be joking," she hissed, scoffing at that idea also. Rudi then walked over to Pluto and said, "Look, if you think we're going to reveal ourselves to those pesky humans, you've got another thing coming."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli looked at each other and then back at Rudi and Valeria.

"We have lived for many years on our own without the need for those humans' help," said Rudi adamantly, "We daren't receive any help from those pesky two-legged creatures anyway. We are fine surviving on our own without any input of help from those two-legged pests who do nothing other than destroy the environment and take us animals away to keep as pets…"

"But these humans CARE for us," retorted Pluto irritably, "They're quite the opposite of those who don't care for the environment at all. While it's true that there are some humans who do not care about the environment at all but not all humans are like that. Those humans, called conservationists, are trying to save our species from extinction."

"And furthermore," put in Lapis Lazuli, "Living out here like this not only puts us at risk of being poached or getting killed from deforestation, but it also puts us at serious risk of being attacked by those flying foxes again."

Gasps, of horror and worry this time, were drawn in by some of the glaucous macaws, and macaws looked at each other worriedly. Some parents even wrapped their wings around their chicks and hugged them as they were unnerved by Lapis Lazuli's warnings.

"It's true," added Lapis Lazuli, "Since we are far from the company of other bird tribes and clans, especially the massive hyacinth macaws, we are essentially sitting bugs to those bats. You were lucky to have survived the previous attack from those bats when we were driven out of our home as was I, but the next time those bats attack, we might not be as fortunate."

This made frightened moans emanate from the agitated crowd of macaws. However, Rudi opened his wings to calm the tensing atmosphere.

"Don't worry, my macaws," he said with assurance, "Those flying foxes aren't planning to attack us. Based on the reports of our patrol groups, there has been no sign of any flying fox activity anywhere near this area. Don't listen to my cousin's silly tales."

At this, tension seemed to have lessened in the glaucous macaw crowd but some individuals were still worried. Turning once again to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, Rudi said, "As for you two and your four chicks, since you have been spending time with humans, especially you, Pluto, and are attempting to make our tribe known to those two-legged pests, I'm going to ask you to leave until you change your tune."

At this, more gasps were drawn in from the glaucous macaw crowd. Rodrigo was especially appalled and Valeria looked on, stricken with shock at this statement, especially since Lapis Lazuli was Rudi's own cousin. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, at this, were incredulous.

"You WHAT!?" snapped Lapis Lazuli.

"You heard me, I want you and your family to leave us," retorted Rudi angrily, "And stay away from us until you have shaken off all the human stuff you have accumulated."

"Rudi…" began Valeria but Rudi raised a wing to tell her to be quiet.

"B-b-but you can't just evict your own _cousin_ ," protested Lapis Lazuli, disgust at Rudi's attitude and arrogance pricking at her once again, "I have been gone for years. Why evict me despite me being separated from you for so long… presumed killed by those flying foxes because of Rodrigo?"

"You know why, Lapis," snapped Rudi angrily, "Your association with humans…" he pointed a wing at Pluto, "…and your pairing up with that human's pet. Not to mention your chicks being born right in a human's place. I want you both to take your chicks away from here and spend some time out there to get over your like of humans. Only then can you come back."

Lapis Lazuli stood there, speechless and appalled at Rudi's attitude. Behind her, Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry were deeply hurt, clearly indicated by tears that had begun to flow from their eyes. Lapis Lazuli looked down at her four chicks and then back at Rudi and Valeria, disgust and anger that saturated her face finally reaching boiling point.

"Well, if that's the way you feel about us then we might as well just leave," she bellowed, "I'm not going to have you upsetting our chicks just because they were born in captivity."

"Then do as I say and get out," shouted Rudi at the top of his voice. He then nodded to the macaws holding Pluto and they released him. Lapis Lazuli then opened her wings and lofted into flight. Charon, Quincy, Blueberry and Floor, tears streaming down their faces, followed. Pluto also lofted into flight and followed his mate and chicks. However, before leaving, he gave Rudi, Valeria and the other glaucous macaws one last look.

"But mark our words," he said, "You are vulnerable out here. Unless you change your minds, you're gonna be suffering some serious repercussions if any of those loggers out there head this way."

Suddenly, a screech erupted from Rudi and he partially opened his wings, threatening to leap at Pluto to chase him out. Pluto immediately resumed his flight and followed Lapis Lazuli and the chicks. As soon as the family was out of sight, Valeria placed a wing on Rudi's shoulder.

"Come on, dear," she said, "Let's send out some more patrols to examine the area for any flying foxes. We haven't done that task yet, I've noticed."

"Thanks for reminding me, meu amore," said Rudi. He then turned to the crowd of glaucous macaws and clapped his wings.

"Okay, meeting over," he said, "Back to our nests."

And with that, the sea of turquoise, cerulean and grey dispersed, and Rudi and Valeria set to the task of setting up patrol groups to send out. Most of the glaucous macaws were unmoved by Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's warnings and were assured that the glaucous tribe was going to be fine, but some glaucous macaws, especially some of the parents with chicks, looked very concerned and worried as Pluto's words sank into their heads:

" _You are vulnerable out here. Unless you change your minds, you're gonna be suffering some serious repercussions if any of those loggers out there head this way."_

At this moment, Pluto and his family were flying back in the direction of the Sanctuary de Amazon. Pluto flashed a glance at the glaucous macaw tribe receding into the distance.

"I'm seriously concerned for that tribe, Lapis," he said, "They're the only flock of glaucous macaws in the world, and they're so vulnerable living out here in the wilderness…"

"Hmm, their arrogance is a major problem," said Lapis Lazuli in agreement, "We're going to have to think of a way to convince Rudi that his tribe is in serious danger of being destroyed by deforestation and captured by poachers… or what's worse…" Lapis Lazuli's voice's lowered from her regular talking volume to a whisper, "…open to attack from those flying foxes…"

She shuddered as she remembered the dream the other night of those giant bats attacking her.

"We cannot allow those macaws to allow their arrogance to trap them until it's too late," said Pluto, remembering Lapis Lazuli's chilling story involving some of the flying foxes chasing her and Rodrigo, "Many of them have managed to survive and escape alive once, like you did. Next time, they might not be so lucky."

Lapis Lazuli, a dreaded look on her face, nodded in agreement. She could not bear to see her tribe facing another violent siege from those bats again. Those flying foxes were known for slaughtering birds in the dozens in attacks like the one the glaucous macaw tribe faced years ago, and almost entire bird tribes and clans being slaughtered by those bats had been documented by the survivors that had managed to escape. Then Pluto moved back to the subject of convincing the glaucous macaw tribe of the danger they were in.

"Okay, how are we going to get Rudi to see that his tribe is in mortal danger?" he asked.

"Well, that's going to be even more difficult than before," said Lapis Lazuli sadly, "Now that Rudi doesn't want us anywhere near his tribe because of our association with humans…"

As she said this, an idea popped into Charon's head. The four chicks were still hurt from Rudi's remarks but Charon's pain was eased by the idea.

"Hey, Mom, Dad," Charon said, "Why don't we get backups from our friends… like Uncle Blu or Auntie Jewel or someone…"

"What do you mean, Charon?" asked Pluto. Then realisation and understanding hit him.

"Oh, I get it," he said, "You mean you want us to fetch some of our friends and return to Rudi's tribe and try and convince Rudi that way?"

Charon, with a smile, nodded.

"You know, that's an excellent idea," said Lapis Lazuli, delight and a glimmer of hope bubbling within her, "I never thought of that. Brilliant thought, son."

Charon smiled while Quincy, Flor and Blueberry continued flying on. His mother's praise had lifted his spirits a bit.

"So, who do you have in mind?" asked Pluto. Lapis Lazuli then thought. After thinking, she began to mention some of the macaws of choice.

"We'll get Blu, Jewel and Eduardo to come with us," she said, "I know Eduardo used to hate humans before he realised how vulnerable his tribe was to poaching and logging. Tell you what, let's return to the Sanctuary and the Spix macaws' ravine first and discuss this with Eduardo, Blu and Jewel and see what they can do."

Pluto gave the answer 'yes' in the form of an agreeing smile. Then the family of six glaucous macaws continued flying through the trees in the direction of the Sanctuary de Amazon.

 **Meanwhile**

Mercury exploded from a cluster of ferns and crash landed onto the floor the moment he entered into a clearing. He had been flying at high speed for a while and was very much out of breath, so he was panting hard. His wing muscles were also aching from all the work they had to perform in operating Mercury's wings during his distressed flight through the jungle of the Lear's macaws' territory. Mercury lay on his back, wings spread out and panting from exhaustion. His eyes were red from crying so much and he was exhausted. Around ten minutes later, Travis and Sunset, with Eustace, Rosa and Milo in their talons, finally appeared. Travis and Sunset were also puffing and panting from flying so fast. The moment the two cockatoos saw their friend lying on his back gasping, they immediately flapped towards him and landed on either side of Mercury, placing their chicks onto the ground first before placing their talons onto the ground. They barely managed to control this landing through their hard panting.

"Mercury," shouted Travis before a bout of rapid breathing overtook him. Like Mercury, Travis and Sunset's wings were also tired but they didn't care about that. Their main priority was Mercury who was in a whirlwind of negative emotions. Hurt, sadness from rejection, anger, heartbreak and many other negative feelings were boiling in Mercury's head like the churning waters of the Amazon River and despite his eyes being fatigued from crying so much, the tears still flowed. Sunset and Travis then took a moment to recover and regain control of their breathing rate before finally turning to the highly distressed and distraught Mercury. Travis then looked up at the sky through the trees. It was beginning to turn a darker blue. Night was slowly creeping in.

"We'd better find somewhere to sleep, Sunset," he said, "It's nearly dusk."

"Let's focus on Mercury first," said Sunset. Travis did so and turned his attention back to Mercury. Eustace, Rosa and Milo stood nearby, looking very sympathetic for their Lear's macaw 'uncle' as he also managed to regain his usual breathing rate.

"Mercury," said Travis. Mercury, at this, sat up and looked at Travis with tear-filled eyes.

"Honestly, Mercury," muttered Sunset, her wings on her hips, "You almost pushed us to breaking point flying so fast like that."

Mercury ignored Sunset's complaint and began to look around until his eyes landed on a familiar spot and setup. At this, his eyes widened. Mercury then got up and walked towards the spot.

"Mercury?" asked Travis. Then his blue eyes landed on the same spot and setup. At this, his yellow crest rose slightly.

"Susan and Lucy and their group's campsite," murmured the sulfur-crested cockatoo. Sunset also saw the setup of tents and hammocks and saw Mercury pace towards them. Mercury then identified the tent and hammock in which Susan and Lucy slept in and found something lying and sitting beside a box by the entrance to the tent. At this, he went over to the object. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa walked in and watched Mercury as he flapped up onto the box to look at the objects. The two objects were a book and a picture frame and the moment Mercury laid his tearful grey eyes on the picture in the frame, he blinked. The picture was a photo of him with the other pets of Jupiter's group and their respective partners. The group was arranged in three rows. On the front row stood Mercury with Sapphire by his side, and Venus, Zephyr, Brisa, Mars and Chiquitita; in the middle row were Jupiter, Ruby, Saturn, Orquidea, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune and Ultramarine, and on the back row were Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Ceres, Cobalto, Travis, Sunset, Veggie, Catina, Dash and Ginger. There were no chicks, puppies or kittens anywhere in the photo and Mercury deduced that this picture was taken before any of the macaws and their mammalian friends had any eggs or confirmation of pregnancy. Mercury then wrapped his wings on the edges of the frame and picked it up to look at the photo closer. Behind him, Travis and his family crept up.

"That photo was taken by Francisco before we had our chicks, kittens and puppies," explained Travis, "It's such a brilliant picture, that."

"Francisco did well to take a photo of all of us together," said Sunset with a smile. Then Mercury's eyes landed on himself with Sapphire sat to his right, her head leaning onto his shoulder. When he saw this, Mercury's eyes once again began to fill with tears.

"I'd never thought I'd face so much prejudice from a leader of a flock of macaws of my species," murmured the Lear's macaw in a strangled voice, "Valentino certainly wasn't interested in how I became a pet in the first place."

"It's just not fair," muttered Sunset in disgust, "Not only that, he didn't consider all the facts when he exiled you and just jumped to the conclusion that you were the one who got into trouble with the green tribe's leader."

"Especially when he didn't listen to your protests of innocence," said Travis, "And I knew you were being honest. Having lived with you for so long, I can tell whether you are telling the truth or a pack of lies. You'd know if you had crossed into the green tribe's side deliberately."

Mercury did not hear Travis's statement for he was too absorbed by the photo. He then began to shed more tears, despite having cried for so long since he rocketed out of the Lear's macaws' ravine.

"Surely Mum, Dad and my brothers and sister wouldn't want me to be unfairly evicted from a flock of Lear's macaws just because of one little accident," he murmured, "One of the main reasons behind this trip was to fulfil our parents' dream of finding more macaws like ourselves."

"If I were to give my opinion, I believe your parents and siblings would have been very proud," said Sunset, hoping to cheer Mercury up, "It's just this little problem and dillydally with Valentino's prejudice against you and what happened in the Pit of Doom that's messed things up. But don't worry…"

However, she trailed off when she saw that Mercury was unmoved and began to sob harder. Sunset's face then fell.

"I really wish Sapphire was here to be honest," she said to Travis and her wings wrapped around Eustace, Rosa and Milo for they were saddened to see Mercury so upset. "She'll be able to help us comfort Mercury."

"Yes, definitely," said Travis, "Especially since she is a relative of that Lear's tribe's patriarch and knows Mercury's past better than he does, just like we do."

Then expectantly, a familiar female voice sounded from behind the cockatoos.

"I'm right on cue, cockatoos," it said. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa almost jumped out of their skins when they heard the voice. Turning round, they saw a female Lear's macaw with long head feathers and deep blue eyes. With her were three smaller macaws, all female.

"Sapphire," said Travis. At this, he clasped his chest with a wing and began to regain his breathing. Sunset did the same. Sapphire's unexpected voice had sent the cockatoos into shock with an increase in their heart rate.

"Boy, you made us jump," said the sulfur-crested cockatoo.

"It was bad enough as it is trying to chase him through the forest," said Sunset, nodding to Mercury who was weeping and looking at the photo.

"I thought you were back in the Lear's macaws' ravine," said Travis. A scowl appeared on Sapphire's face.

"I've left in search of Mercury with my daughters actually," she replied. Behind her, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette looked up and saw their dad weep.

"He's on that box," said Travis with a pointed wing feather. Sapphire, at this, followed Travis's pointed wing and saw her mate sobbing.

"He's very upset over Valentino's prejudice toward his history," said Sunset, "And also over his unfair eviction of him…"

Sapphire, at this, shot the Major Mitchell's cockatoo a glare.

"The culprit has come forward actually," she said, "It was Archie. He was the one who got Mercury into trouble with Alonso by laying down a trail of moulted Lear's macaw feathers over the border and into the green macaws' territory as well as making him kick the ball up so that the green macaws could win the match in the Pit of Doom and the entire camu-camu fruit grove including our side..."

When the cockatoos heard this explanation, they felt shock explode within them.

"So it was one of the other macaws that got Mercury into trouble?" gasped Sunset incredulously.

"Why would Archie do such a thing?" asked Travis.

"He wanted to get rid of Mercury and take his place as my mate," replied Sapphire in a bitter growl. She had no trust in Archie anymore. After Archie had confessed what he had done, any trust Sapphire had had completely evaporated. Sapphire was also flooded with disgust at Valentino and Rosalind's prejudice towards Mercury especially towards his history as a pet and how he ended up as one in the first place. Pushing away the thoughts about Archie and Rosalind and Valentino, Sapphire turned her attention to Mercury who continued to weep and cry. "Anyway, that thing with Archie's not important. What's more important is he needs comforting."

And with that, she walked towards Mercury and flapped onto the box. Mercury continued gazing at the photo of him and the others in his group through teary eyes when he noticed a navy blue dash out the corner of his eye. At this, he turned and almost jumped with shock when he saw Sapphire stand there with Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette standing with Travis and his family.

"Sapphire," said Mercury in shock, stopping crying, "What are you doing here?"

"We have come to look for you," replied Sapphire. Then Mercury's eyes filled with tears as sadness and hurt resurfaced inside him. He looked away, eyes closed with tears leaking through the eyelids' gap.

"You need to be back with your tribe, Sapphire," he said in a strangled voice, tears running down his cheeks, "They need you. Valentino and Rosalind need you especially since you've been missing for well over fifteen years."

Sapphire, however, did not budge; neither did the scowl on her face. On the floor, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa and Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette continued to watch.

"Not if my first-cousin-once-removed is going to have that attitude towards you, Mercury," snapped Sapphire fiercely, "Also, about your incident with Alonso and what happened in the Pit of Doom, that was all Archie's doing."

At this, Mercury shot Sapphire a surprised glare.

"Archie got me into all that trouble?" he asked incredulously.

"He wanted rid of you so that he could take your place as my mate," explained Sapphire, "He confessed it straight to me and I gave him a good lambasting. Hopefully, he'll be dealt with."

Mercury continued to stand there, shocked. Then finally, grief from Valentino's attitude towards him overtook him once again.

"Well, your tribe needs you, like I've said before," he murmured in a strangled voice, his eyes back on the photo, "You've been gone for so long. As for me, I have no place in that tribe. They despise me, especially for being a pet."

"And what will you be doing, Mercury?" retorted Sapphire slightly angrily, "Return to the rainforest outside Rio to live out the rest of your years alone while I live out the rest of my life with my tribe with our daughters? I don't think so."

"But…" began Mercury but Sapphire swept on.

"Look, I am NOT going to have us break up after what happened, especially based on Valentino's attitude towards you. You are my mater and we are together in whatever problem comes our way, for better or worse…"

"I cannot return to the Lear's macaw tribe!" retorted Mercury in a louder voice, "If Valentino or any of the other Lear's macaws find me they'll brutally chase me out. I cannot go back!"

"Well if that is the case," retorted Sapphire in a raised voice, "I'm coming with you with our daughters and we'll simply live with the Spix macaw tribe. I'm sure Eduardo wouldn't mind us living with him…"

Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette flinched as Sapphire shouted some parts of this sentence.

"The thing is, Mercury," added Sapphire in a lower voice volume, "We are mates and we are to stay together for life. True we may have our disagreements and thus argue every now and then but ever since we chose each other as mates, our bond was meant to be for life for macaws mate for life."

Mercury, at this, began to allow his insistence that Sapphire return to the Lear's tribe to melt away.

"There are ways around this," said Sapphire in a lower voice, "We'll just have to live with another macaw tribe or clan until Valentino changes his mind. But I am not going to break up with you now or ever. Look at our daughters."

She gestured to Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette as they stood by Sunset on the ground. Mercury looked at the three chicks.

"What are those three going to do without their father?" asked Sapphire, "What am I going to do without you since raising chicks is a two-parent job?"

Mercury looked back at Sapphire.

"So that means you have far too much to lose, Mercury," said Sapphire firmly, "This problem can be solved and we can work through it together with the help of our friends."

"Absolutely," said Travis, a frown on his face, "Even though Sunset and our chicks might not be built for the Amazon and we might be hundreds of miles away in Rio with Dash, Veggie and their mates and offspring but at least you still have Venus, Mars and the others."

"Good point, Travis," said Sapphire. A thought about Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon then came to mind.

"And I'm sure Uranus and his family are going through the same problem as we are," she said, "Since Alonso and his tribe also hate humans…"

As she said this, Travis began to become wary of the group's surroundings as they darkened. The sky overhead was turning a darker blue. White specks, indicating stars, dotted the dark blue canvas.

"We mustn't be too long here, folks," Travis said, "Night is drawing in and those humans will be back here any moment."

"Thanks for reminding me, Travis," said Sapphire, "We will also be needing to find a place to spend the night too."

Turning back to Mercury who glared at the photo, more tears streaming down his face, Sapphire said, "So that's basically it. I am not leaving you and that's that."

Her blue eyes then spotted the picture so she walked over to it. Mercury then showed her the photo.

"It's our group," he said in a strangled voice, "You remember us having our picture taken, don't you?"

"I certainly do," said Sapphire as she smiled at the little sea of colour smiling back to her, including herself and Mercury. "This was taken before we had our offspring."

Mercury continued gazing at the picture as the urge to cry overtook him once again. Finally, the pressure let loose once again. Hugging the photo, Mercury entered another sobbing fit. He then placed the picture frame back onto the box and fluttered down to Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, and Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and began to cry heavily. Sapphire followed and wrapped her wings around him. Travis, Sunset and all six chicks did the same. Soon, the ten parrots were locked in a group embrace. Mercury sobbed into Sapphire's head feathers but Sapphire did not mind. However, this group embrace slowly began to relieve the pressure of negative emotions inside Mercury and his sobs began to slow. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette rested their heads against his side and Mercury had one wing around them. Eustace, Milo and Rosa were by Sunset's sides, screened from view by Sunset and Travis's wings. The ten remained in this group embrace until they finally broke apart the moment Mercury managed to calm down. Mercury sniffled but he felt so much better being hugged by his mate, daughters and cockatoo friends.

"We'd better leave this place," Mercury said in a still edgy voice, only it was not as strangled as before. "Susan, Lucy and their group will soon be returning."

"Quite right," said Sapphire, "I could clearly recognise this place as that group of humans' campsite actually."

"Let's get out of here before we hear those humans coming back and find a place to spend the night," said Travis, "It's not safe to fly through the jungle at night."

But before the group could loft into flight, a rustling of ferns sounded. This sound sent shivers coursing through the skins and spines of the ten parrots and they froze into place. Their feathers, especially the feathers on the cockatoos' heads, rose and their eyes widened in fear as they began to examine the now dark surroundings. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were very frightened.

"Not this again!" snarled Sapphire angrily, her head feathers stuck out slightly.

"Mommy," moaned Annette as she pressed against Sapphire's belly feathers, "We're scared."

Phoebe and Jasmine also murmured. Eustace, Rosa and Milo also cowered against Travis and Sunset's belly feathers. Travis, his yellow crest fully raised, looked around.

"I do not like this at all," he murmured timidly, "Especially at night."

"Not in the dark," muttered Sunset with a frown.

"Well, I hope it's not a predator," muttered Mercury, his relieved grief replaced by fear, "Does anyone have any plans of escape?"

None of the other three adult parrots gave an answer, however, for they didn't know if any of the surrounding trees had hollows large enough for four adult birds and six chicks. However, the tension was compelling them to plan on that anyway. As the ten parrots continued looking around, they did not see an eleventh parrot, a navy blue macaw with teal markings and yellow-orange pieces of skin on its face and near-black beak and feet like Sapphire and Mercury, stride towards from behind.

"What are you lot doing slap-bang in the middle of a human's campsite?" he muttered, an angry scowl on his face. Mercury, Sapphire, Sunset and Travis and their chicks all flinched and turned round in response to the voice. some of the chicks also let loose short screams of shock but when they saw that it was only a slender Lear's macaw with teal eyes and a flick of feathers behind his head, they breathed sighs of relief.

"Waldo," gasped Sapphire as she felt her heart beat fast from the shock, "You frightened us."

"What are you doing out here in the dark?" asked Travis, also holding his chest as his heart beat fast "The sun's gone down and you should be back in the Lear's macaws' ravine."

"I've come out looking for Sapphire," said Waldo firmly. His teal eyes then landed on a familiar grey-eyed macaw standing next to Sapphire.

"What is Murphy still doing in our territory?" asked Waldo when he saw Mercury, "I thought Valentino told him to completely leave our land."

"Whatever for!?" snapped Sapphire defensively, "He's done nothing wrong! Especially after what Archie had done to him at the Lear's/green border and in the Pit of Doom."

Travis and Sunset just said nothing while Mercury looked at Waldo fearfully.

"It's not based on his innocence regarding what happened between us and the green macaws," "What is Murphy still doing in our territory?" asked Waldo when he saw Mercury, "I thought Valentino told him to completely leave our land."

"Whatever for!?" snapped Sapphire defensively, "He's done nothing wrong! Especially after what Archie had done to him at the Lear's/green border and in the Pit of Doom."

Travis and Sunset just said nothing while Mercury looked at Waldo fearfully.

"It's not based on his innocence regarding what happened between us and the green macaws over the camu-camu fruit grove, since Archie told you that he had been the one to cross into the green tribe's territory and make Murphy kick the ball into the air for one of our opponents to kick into our goal and score the final score of the match," retorted Waldo, "It's based on his history as a pet. Human's pets have absolutely NO place in our tribe."

This was met by a disgusted sigh from his half-sister and both cockatoos. Mercury began to weep again.

"You're just as bigoted as Valentino, Waldo," snarled Travis, his yellow crest fully raised, "You know that!?"

"You ought to hear Mercury's tragic backstory first before making a judgement about him," added Sunset, her pale pink, red and yellow banded crest fully raised. Then Sapphire realised what Waldo had said.

"Wait, how did you say that Archie was the culprit that sparked the war between our tribe and the greens over the whole camu-camu fruit grove?" she asked confused.

"I overheard you and his conversation outside your hollow," confessed Waldo without hesitation. A sharp gasp was drawn in on Sapphire.

"You've eavesdropped on our conversation!?" she bellowed. Mercury, Travis and Sunset looked at each other and remained silent. Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Eustace, Rosa and Milo who flanked their parents' sides also kept quiet.

"Look, I'm sorry to have done it but after hearing what Archie did, I've reported him to Valentino and Rosalind," said Waldo, his wings up, "He's being dealt with now…"

"Well, I'm glad he's been turned in," said Sapphire smugly, "He's caused Mercury a lot of trouble."

Mercury nodded in agreement, having now realised that he hadn't been the only one who had been at the camu-camu fruit grove and that the tackle he had received from Archie in the Pit of Doom was no accident. It all made sense now that Sapphire had explained everything Archie had told her: the feather trail, the incident in the Pit of Doom, as well as his innocence.

"No, it's because he sparked war between our tribe and the greens by crossing into the green tribe's side," said Waldo, ignoring Mercury's unintentional involvement in the incident, "and had cost us our precious supply of camu-camu fruit."

"What about me?" asked Mercury, "Archie also got me into trouble, you know!"

Waldo just ignored Mercury and focussed on Sapphire. However, under the bold look, sympathy for the former pet Lear's macaw was starting to attempt to rise to the surface. Waldo was actually curious about Mercury's backstory of how he ended up as a pet in the first place and wanted to know more. Finally, he let his curiosity out.

"By the way," said Sapphire's older half-brother, "I'm curious as to how Murphy ended up as a pet in the first place."

"His name's Mercury!" shouted Sunset, irritated at Waldo always getting Mercury's name wrong. Travis and Sapphire also wore irritated faces while Mercury just looked on, no scowl on his face whatsoever. Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Eustace, Milo and Rosa remained quiet. Waldo then sighed, all boldness gone and replaced by sympathy for Mercury. Looking at Mercury, he asked the question again. "So tell me, how did you end up as a pet?"

Mercury, at first was reluctant to tell the teal-eyed macaw but when Sapphire gave him an encouraging nod, followed by an encouraging smile from Travis and Sunset, he relented.

"Before I met Susan and Lucy," Mercury began, "They're two of the humans who owned me, Travis and Sunset and some other macaws, I was born in the rainforest outside the city of Rio. My mum's name was Lola, my dad's name was Thomas and I had three siblings: two brothers named Jackie and Chico and a sister named Ashley…"

He then launched into an explanation of his parents' dream of finding more Lear's macaws in the Amazon when he and his three siblings were old enough, how Thomas and Lola had been best friends with a Spix macaw family which were Venus's family who also had the same dream and goal but with finding other Spix macaws out in the Amazon as well. Mercury then explained how his and Venus's home was thrown into chaos by the intrusion of poachers and how he ended up caught by them alongside Venus: that group of poachers had a domestic creature called cats and a cockatoo working with them, the cockatoo which was a sulfur-crested much like Travis was now. Mercury explained how his mother had flown away screaming, how his father was killed by that cockatoo, and how his siblings had gone missing as well. He then explained that he was smuggled to the UK, a country across the Atlantic Ocean alongside Venus and how he met Susan and Lucy, along with three more humans, Blake, Jake and Drake, and the other macaws including Jupiter the scarlet macaw and Pluto the glaucous macaw who turned out to be a macaw also smuggled from Rio too. Waldo looked on in shock and horror as he heard the story.

"…and for the next fifteen years we lived with our owners in the UK, meeting Travis, Sunset, a cat named Veggie and a dog named Dash as we grew up," said Mercury, "Then one day, a man named Francisco came over to our home and told us that I was a Lear's macaw, Venus was a Spix macaw and Pluto was the last male glaucous macaw alive. We thought we were some types of hyacinth macaws at first until that day. Then we went to Rio so that I could meet Sapphire, Pluto could meet Lapis Lazuli and Venus could meet Zephyr so that we could breed for conservation purposes, and that was pretty much it."

"Woe, so you have been through a lot, especially as a chick," said Waldo as Mercury finished his story.

"Venus went through the same sort of thing," said Sapphire.

"Venus?" repeated Waldo confused.

"She's a Spix macaw and the mate of Zephyr," said Travis, "Like Mercury, she lost her entire family when she was captured and smuggled out of Brazil too."

"That cockatoo's name was Nigel much to our surprise," said Sunset. Waldo sighed.

"It's a common thing that rips apart bird families and devastates birds," he said, "Many of us have lost relatives to poachers before in the past…"

Suddenly, Sunset heard the sounds of trudging and talking emanate through the vegetation. She turned in the direction of the sounds.

"That human group is coming," she said to the others, "Let's leave before they spot us."

At this, the group opened their wings and fluttered off into the dense vegetation of the trees, hiding behind some leaf clusters. Then the group looked out at the campsite. Waldo looked around.

"We'd better find a place to spend the night, guys," he said as he examined the dark surroundings, "It isn't safe out here…"

"Do you hear that group of ornithologists?" asked Sunset as she listened to the group of humans as they approached the campsite, "They sound so jubilant."

"Ornithologists?" repeated Waldo confused.

"Humans who study birds," explained Mercury. Then the words of the humans became loud enough for the words to be deciphered.

"Tulio and Linda certainly were thrilled about this," said one, a woman whom Sunset, Travis, Sapphire and Mercury recognised as Susan's, "We've finally found the Lear's macaws' living space!"

"Yeah, tomorrow, we're going to include this patch of land on which the Lear's macaws live into the Sanctuary de Amazon alongside the green macaws' habitat," said another voice, a man's.

"Hopefully, that flock of Lear's macaws will be safe from poaching and logging," said another voice belonging to another human. Then within moments, a group of bipedal forms appeared from the bush. Some of them stretched out their arms and yawned.

"Well done, team," said a woman, whom Travis deduced was Amy, the leader of the group, "You've done very well. Let's get prepared for bed."

And with that, the group members did hi-fives with each other before turning to their tents. Waldo's teal eyes were inflated by intrigue and wonder.

"Wait… did I just hear that right?" he asked, "Those humans are going to set up our home as a sanctuary to protect us from deforestation and poaching?"

"Correct guess, Waldo," said Travis with a smile. Waldo then raised his head.

"So there ARE humans who do care for the environment?" he asked. He then looked at the group of humans as they packed their things away. Mercury pointed to two of the women kneeling down by the box with the picture frame on it.

"Those two are Susan and Lucy," he explained as Waldo examined them, "They're two of our owners."

"Interesting," said Waldo as he observed Susan and Lucy as they packed their things away for the night, "And… have those two cared for you and Venus and some of the other macaws during your time as a pet?"

"We were their pets," said Travis, "But Mercury had been released so that he can be with Sapphire in the jungle."

"We were raised in a city in the UK called London," said Sunset. Then Waldo pondered with a wing on his chin.

"Valentino needs to know about this," he said, "But the question is… will he believe us?"

Sapphire then placed a wing on his shoulder.

"We'll see to that tomorrow," she said, "Our kids are getting tired."

Waldo looked at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. They had already fallen asleep for they were very tired. Sunset and Travis also saw that Eustace, Milo and Rosa had also fallen asleep.

"Quite right," said Sunset, "It's also not safe out here in the dark. Who knows what predator could be lurking in this creepy environment."

"Nocturnal predators," said Waldo as he shivered slightly at the shady shapes of the leaves and trees. The trees certainly did look terrifying in the dark. Their twisted branches appeared to resemble monsters with gnarled limbs. Not wanting to stay here any longer, and seeing that the group of ornithologists were preparing for bed, Waldo began to lead the group through the dark jungle. Mercury, Sapphire, Sunset and Travis carried their sleeping chicks as they followed Sapphire's half-brother as he began looking for a hollow big enough to house eleven birds for the night. It took a while but after some searching, Waldo finally found an empty hollow in a small tree. It was just large enough to house two families of birds. Mercury, Travis and their mates then carried their chicks into this hollow and began to settle down for the night while Waldo began to cover the entrance with a large cluster of leaves to conceal the hollow from view.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20- the sheer arrogance of the glaucous macaw tribe**

Night had fallen over the Amazon Rainforest and all the diurnal animals have turned in for it, whilst nocturnal animals had come out to hunt. The night sky was partly cloudy but the near-black canvas was smattered with a large trail of glitter and a half cut of the moon. In the Spix macaws' ravine, the majority of the Spix macaw tribe had retreated into their trees for the night, apart from a few who had gone out on a night patrol. Though there was no need to patrol the territory for intruding humans now since their home was now a sanctuary, protected from logging and poaching, the Spix macaws still did night patrols every now and then, mostly to help keep an eye out for any flying fox activity and to make sure things were in order in the territory. While Eduardo was sending out the night patrol groups, Roberto led Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor to his tree. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago had stayed in this nest for the first nights of their joining the tribe (or in Jewel's case, return) but had now moved into a tree of their own, leaving Roberto's nest empty. As Roberto showed Pluto and his family in, he saw the sombre look on his and Lapis Lazuli's faces.

"Something wrong, you two?" he asked in his silky voice. According to Blu, Roberto's voice was similar to that of Bruno Mars, a famous human singer. However, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had heard that Blu did not get off to a very good start with Roberto when he first met him, especially after hearing that Roberto and Jewel were very close friends when they were young. Blu had been rather jealous and wary of Roberto, especially of his behaviour towards Jewel, and his charisma and confidence and amazing singing talent. However, the two had become friends after dealing with the loggers and Blu's jealous awareness had subsided, though from time to time he was still wary around Roberto. Pushing away these thoughts, Pluto focussed on what he had to say.

"It's the glaucous macaw tribe," murmured Pluto as thoughts about Lapis Lazuli's tribe bothered him. Lapis Lazuli was inside Roberto's nest with the four chicks.

"Wow, Mom, look, a bath!" shouted Charon's voice, distracting Pluto and Roberto from their conversation. At this, the two looked inside and saw Charon plunge into the water pool.

"Charon, don't…" began Lapis Lazuli but it was too late as water splashed everywhere. Flor, Blueberry and Quincy all laughed as Charon then relaxed in the bath. Pluto was about to apologise to Roberto but he smiled in amusement.

"It's okay, Pluto," he said, "I don't mind the kids of friends bathing in my bath."

"Sorry, Roberto," said Lapis Lazuli, "Since this is your tree and not ours, and that bath is part of it, it's kind of rude to just jump into it without your permission…"

She then turned to Charon and scolded, "Right, son, out of there. It's time for bed! You too, you three!"

This order was responded by the groans of all four chicks and Charon reluctantly rose out of the bath, his turquoise and grey feathers soaked. Roberto and Pluto smiled in amusement.

"Well, I hope to find a lovely female macaw and hopefully start a family," crooned Roberto as he admired Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's four chicks as they fluttered to one of the bedrooms in his nest.

"You haven't found a mate yet?" asked Pluto in surprise.

"No, but I am considering it," said Roberto. Pluto smiled before thoughts about Lapis Lazuli's tribe returned to his head.

"Anyway, we have a favour to ask of Eduardo," he said.

"Oh, and what's that?" asked Roberto. Inside Roberto's tree, Lapis Lazuli was tucking in Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry.

"You know when we told you about that flock of glaucous macaws when we returned?" asked Pluto. as he and his family entered the ravine, they had explained their findings of the glaucous macaw tribe to Eduardo, Blu, Jewel, Venus, Zephyr and some of the other Spix macaws, but since nightfall had come by the time Pluto's family had arrived, they planned on explaining more to Eduardo tomorrow morning.

"Yes?" said Roberto.

"Well, they're still alive," said Pluto, "And are now under the leadership of Rudi, Lapis Lazuli's cousin. However, they are homeless and are living out in the wilderness open to poaching and deforestation. It's been bothering me and Lapis Lazuli, her especially the entire flight from there back to this ravine."

Roberto's eyes widened in surprise.

"I always thought that the glaucous tribe had been wiped out by those flying foxes," he said. He shuddered as he thought of those bats, especially when he lost his entire family to a group of them when he was young.

"No, they've managed to survive but now they're without a home," said Pluto, "They're living in a cluster of trees that aren't really suitable to be their home. We've tried convincing Rudi and his mate Valeria that they and their tribe is vulnerable to destruction caused by logging or getting caught by poachers, as well as the fact that they need conservation by humans but they are too arrogant to believe us and don't want to reveal themselves to any humans, not even those who care for the environment."

Roberto listened to Pluto's explanation of the problem when Lapis Lazuli, having tucked the chicks into bed in one of the rooms, emerged from the tree. When she heard Pluto finish the explanation of the problem, she began to add her agreements to what Pluto said.

"That's true," she said, "That flock of glaucous macaws are my tribe, whom I have missed for so many years since the flying foxes' siege on us, and the last thing I want of them is being killed by deforestation or caught by poachers, or even worse, slaughtered by those flying foxes in the possible event of them attacking us again."

Lapis Lazuli then began to weep and fall on her knees, her wings on her head. "Seriously, Roberto, those glaucous macaws were fortunate to have escaped that siege of the bats as was I, but the next time they get attacked by those flying foxes, they might not be so lucky."

"There are no other bird tribe or clan, not even hyacinth macaws, anywhere nearby," said Pluto, "who would serve as helpers to those glaucous macaws in the event of a flying fox attack. However, it seems that Rudi had thought that his tribe might cause competition with other tribes and clans over food and space, so he didn't bother…"

"We've tried convincing Rudi of these problems including how vulnerable the tribe is to those factors," said Lapis Lazuli in a strangled voice, a few tears falling from her eyes, "but he just dismissed it all as silly stuff and told us to leave and not return until we have got rid of all associations with human stuff..."

She then nodded to Pluto and said, "And furthermore, my tribe does not like him because of his past as a pet and my association with humans when I met Pluto, as well as our four chicks being born near a human's city. We cannot convince that tribe alone."

"What we mean is," said Pluto, "We're asking for backup macaws to help us convince that glaucous macaw tribe that they need conservation or else they will definitely risk going extinct…"

Roberto listened to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's pleas before finally speaking.

"Well, it sounds that those macaws have a bitter hatred of humans and are refusing to budge," he said.

"That's true," said Lapis Lazuli, "Please, we need help. I was thinking that Eduardo and Blu might be able to help…"

Roberto thought. After thinking, he said, "We'll speak to Eduardo tomorrow about this and see what he says, and then we'll take it from there."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli smiled with relief.

"Oh, thanks, Roberto," said Pluto, "Anyway, let's go to bed. It's getting late."

Lapis Lazuli nodded.

"Oh, and Roberto, thanks for hosting our family," she said.

"No problem," said Roberto with a humble smile, "Mi casa es su casa."

Pluto gave a quizzical look until Lapis Lazuli explained the phrase.

"It's Spanish for 'My home is your home'," she said, "We ought to give you some lessons in Spanish and Portuguese at some point."

Pluto smiled and then looked at Roberto's tree, awed by its size.

"Well, at least we have a proper home to stay in until we solve the problem with the glaucous macaws," he said, "I just hope we can convince them of their vulnerability and then see if we can help them find a proper home."

"That's going to be difficult," said Roberto as Pluto and Lapis Lazuli disappeared into his tree, "I don't think any of us know of anywhere that's suitable for a large flock of macaws to move in and call home. We'll just have to see when we come to that obstacle."

And with that, he followed the glaucous macaw couple into the tree.

 **Meanwhile**

Rudi stood on a branch of a tall tree and overlooked his tribe as they entered their makeshift 'homes' and nests for the night. It was clear that the glaucous macaws were indeed vulnerable. Most of the glaucous macaws, families and individuals alike, were living in nests constructed in the branches of a cluster of trees with the remaining minority living in proper hollows. It was clear that this way of living was putting the glaucous macaw tribe at serious risk of destruction through deforestation or being spotted by poachers. There were no other bird tribes or clans anywhere nearby either, so the glaucous macaws were also very vulnerable to possible enemy attacks, such as from the flying foxes. The glaucous macaws had managed to survive the previous siege caused by those bats years ago but had lost quite a number of tribe members with some, among them Lapis Lazuli, going missing. After losing their home and not wanting to bother the other tribes and clans with the risk of competition for food and space, the glaucous macaws had moved out here and since then, patrol groups had been sent out to look for a proper home with no luck. This had been going on for years from the glaucous tribe's loss of their home until now. While Rudi thought about these things, he felt glad to have sent Pluto and his family away. Rudi could not believe that Lapis Lazuli had got involved with humans, the glaucous macaws' most loathed creature, and had paired up with a macaw that had lived as a pet for most of his life, and had had chicks with him in captivity. A lot of the other glaucous macaws were also smug that Pluto had gone, but amongst the smug and glad atmosphere were some dots of doubt and worry. Some of the glaucous macaws were doubtful of Rudi's decision of kicking Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and their chicks out, among them Henri, one of Pluto's trainers. While Rudi continued to overlook his tribe as they settled down for the night, a macaw called his name.

"Rudi," said the voice.

"Yes, Henri," said Rudi in an emotionally neutral voice. Henri then walked towards Rudi and sat near him.

"Mind if I have a word with you?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Rudi, turning to him, "What's on your mind?"

At first, Henri hesitated before finally letting it out.

"I'm not sure if we should ignore the warnings of that macaw who was Lapis Lazuli's mate," he said, "It's been causing some of us doubt since he mentioned our possible vulnerability to getting killed by loggers…"

"Oh, get that thought right out of your head, Henri," snapped Rudi slightly annoyed, "That mate of Lapis Lazuli's is a pet, and I don't tolerate ANY associations with humans whatsoever. We're fine without any human help in our survival."

Rudi then turned to look at his tribe and the dark jungle.

"If only we could find a suitable home to settle in, though," he murmured. Henri then sighed.

"But Rudi, we have spent year after year looking for a suitable place to live," he said, "with no luck. Our kids are growing up in poor conditions such as tight space and lack of a hollow and the majority of the tribe has had enough of living like this."

"Henri," began Rudi but Henri swept on, voicing his doubts more.

"We've got to find a solution to this problem sooner or later, Rudi," he muttered, a little angrier this time, "Lapis Lazuli and her mate are right. We ARE vulnerable out here and if we don't find a home sooner or later, our very existence might end up in grave danger."

Henri then threw his wings into the air in frustration. "My mate and chicks have been complaining of lack of space for months now and I'm getting SICK of it. We ALL are and I'm sure you and Valeria are as well. It's not good for our chicks especially. We used to have a lovely home until those barbaric membrane-winged furballs came along and violently tore it away from us, leaving us to live in ruins like we are doing now, while they settle into our former home, and if we don't do something about this anytime soon, our descendants are going to be suffering the same mess we're in!"

Rudi turned and was about to retort but Henri had already spread his wings and flown away towards one of the trees in which a large number of glaucous macaw nests were built. Giving up, Rudi returned to staring at his tribe, before finally taking off himself to return to his makeshift hollow in which Valeria and his chicks, Alberto and Lorenzo.

By next morning at sunrise, the glaucous macaw tribe was awake and as usual, Rudi was setting up patrol groups to send out to continue the search for a new home as well as keeping an eye on the surroundings in case any of those flying foxes were about. While Rudi was setting up patrol groups to send out, Valeria was bringing some fruit back for their two sons, Lorenzo and Alberto. As she flew towards the hollow in which the two chicks were located, Valeria wore a saddened and doubtful look on her face. After hearing Lapis Lazuli and Pluto's warnings and their pointing out of the conditions in which the glaucous macaw tribe was living in, Valeria had been troubled with thoughts of worry and concerns for the tribe's future, especially her two sons. Alberto and Lorenzo were only a few weeks old and Valeria feared for the two's future including growing up outside a proper hollow. This concern was repeated in the heads of the other parents as well every time they looked at their chicks. The living conditions had been difficult for the glaucous macaw tribe, especially after they had lost their home to the bats. The majority of parents had hoped that a suitable new home has to be found soon. As Valeria perched onto the rim of the hollow with the fruit in her beak and talons, Rudi checked the patrol groups. However, some of the patrollers looked reluctant, including Rodrigo. He was not only racked with guilt over abandoning Lapis Lazuli when some of the bats chased him and her during their siege on the glaucous macaws, he was also filled with doubts and concern for the future of the tribe. Living like this for years was beginning to drive some of the glaucous macaws over the edge and the urge to find a suitable home had become more desperate. Overcome with these thoughts, Rodrigo attempted to speak.

"Rudi," he began.

"Just follow my directions, Rodrigo," snapped Rudi irritably. He then returned to checking the other patrol groups. Rodrigo then looked at another macaw, a female.

"I'm really am beginning to dislike the way we're living, Céu," he muttered angrily, "We've been living like this for years."

Céu, a sky blue coloured glaucous macaw, sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I agree, Rodrigo," she muttered, "My parents and older sister are getting tired of the confined space alongside most of the other families and individual glaucous macaws."

Suddenly, Rudi's call for their attention drew Rodrigo and Céu's attention to the tribe patriarch as he clapped his wings.

"Right, patrollers," said Rudi, "Here are your instructions: the usual search for a new home for our tribe and keeping an eye on the surroundings and reporting any flying fox activity."

This was met by groans from some of the patrollers including Rodrigo. They were getting sick of this same old routine that had gone on for ages.

"Come on, folks," snapped Rudi impatiently, "Just do as I say."

"But Rudi," said Céu, "We've been doing this for ages."

Some of the other patrollers also complained and said the same thing. Rudi, at this, began to lose patience quicker.

"You will do as I tell you, or else!" he growled, "Now stop whinging and start spreading out!"

The patrol groups all sighed and were about to do so when suddenly, a female voice called out, "Rudi!"

Rudi snapped round in the direction of the voice's owner impatiently and saw three macaws approach him. The three macaws all wore panicked looks on their faces.

"What is it, Adriana!?" he growled. Then the macaw named Adriana and her two companions slowed to a hover, panting for breath from flying so fast.

"There are intruders approaching our tribe!" Adriana managed to spit. At this, Rudi's eyes widened. Rodrigo and Céu looked at each other and the patrollers.

"Not during our daily patrol setup," muttered one of them.

"What sort of intruders?" snapped Rudi.

"Flying foxes?" asked Rodrigo.

"No, macaws," replied Adriana, much to Rudi and the patrollers' relief, "There are six of them. I can't tell what species they are but five are light blue and the sixth is red, and they're heading this way in our direction."

Rodrigo raised his head in confusion.

"What other macaw species are light blue besides the Spix macaws and us glaucous macaws?" he asked.

"Well, Lear's and hyacinth macaws are the only other blue macaw species but their plumages are always far darker than the Spix and us glaucous with very rare exceptions amongst the hyacinths as very few of them can sometimes have lighter blue feathers," said Céu, "And based on the other macaw's colour, it sounds like a scarlet or green-winged…"

"Get my inner circle birds and be prepared to confront those intruders right away!" growled Rudi. Adriana and her two companions nodded obediently and flew off to gather the inner circle birds. Rudi then turned to the patrol group and said, "You lot accompany us while we confront those intruding macaws as well."

Rodrigo and the others nodded and flew off to prepare to meet the intruders. Soon, most of the glaucous macaw tribe was gathered on a row of trees as six feathered forms, which were indeed macaws, melted into view. Five were blue and the other was red. Valeria looked on in worry.

"Well at least they're not flying foxes, dear," she said with some relief, "But what do those macaws want with us?"

Rodrigo then squinted at two of the macaws and recognised them based on their grey heads and necks and the rich blue plumage of one of them.

"It's Pluto and Lapis Lazuli," he gasped, "Why are they returning? I thought they were sent away…"

Rudi growled as he saw that two of the six macaws were indeed Pluto and Lapis Lazuli but to his surprise, the other three blue macaws did not have grey heads and yellow facial markings. Two were light blue while the other was a darker blue and Rudi saw that one of them had two sets of head feathers resembling pigtails. The sixth macaw was vermillion red with a muscular build and was larger than the blue macaws. As the six macaws got closer, their features became more visible. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli became more recognisable, much to Rudi's disgust, and the four macaws accompanying them were revealed to be three Spix macaws and one scarlet macaw. The scarlet macaw had teal-coloured wing feathers and parts of his tail and brown eyes, and a black and white beak and a white mask of skin surrounding its face, while the three Spix macaws had blue-white facial markings. One was a large cerulean macaw with green eyes and a row of feathers on his head. Based on his appearance, especially from the grey bags under his eyes, this macaw appeared to be middle aged. The second Spix macaw was a darker blue. He had blue eyes, a stocky build and a ruff of neck feathers, and a blue-white patch around each eye. The third Spix macaw was a female and had spec-like markings on her face (a patch around each eye connected by a band over the beak's top). Her eyes were a vivid shade of amber and she had pigtails. As the six macaws, once they were close enough to the glaucous macaws, perched onto a tree opposite Rudi, the three Spix and the scarlet macaws' eyes widened in utter surprise.

"Good grief, I had never seen so many glaucous macaws," said the scarlet macaw, "You were right, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli."

"They should be included in the sanctuary," said the brown-eyed male Spix macaw. Rudi and some of the others reacted distastefully. The middle aged male Spix macaw also stared at the glaucous macaw tribe in surprise.

"So THIS is the glaucous tribe?" he asked, "I-I-I thought they didn't survive the siege from those bats years ago."

"Well, they have, Eduardo," said Lapis Lazuli, "And here they are including my cousin Rudi who's now the leader."

She then nodded to the macaw at the front of the gathering of glaucous macaws. However, Rudi was not at all impressed.

"Eduardo?" repeated one of the glaucous macaws when it heard Lapis Lazuli mention the aged macaw's name, "I haven't heard of him in ages."

"Never mind that," snapped Valeria, "Let's get this over with."

Then she turned to Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and the other four macaws which were named Eduardo, Blu, Venus and Jupiter. Before leaving the Spix macaws' ravine at sunrise, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had gone to talk with Eduardo and had told him all that they had told Roberto last night, including the glaucous macaws' living conditions. Eduardo had agreed and Pluto had gone to get Blu up (much to his reluctance for he did not like getting up very early), and had explained everything to him and Jewel. Blu had opted to go along despite being groggy from being awake while Jewel sought to the kids. Venus had also volunteered to go along as had Jupiter, who had come to visit the Spix macaws to check on Venus's progress with adapting to the wild. Now the four had followed Pluto and Lapis Lazuli all the way to the place where the glaucous macaws were staying, Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor had stayed behind at Roberto's nest and will be under Roberto's care until their parents return.

Valeria glared at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and growled "What are you two doing here? I thought my mate has told you not to return until you have shaken off your association with humans."

Rudi nodded in agreement, disgusted at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's disobedience.

"As leader of the glaucous macaw tribe, I expect my orders and commands to be obeyed," he snarled. Lapis Lazuli then raised her wings.

"Look, cousin, sorry to disobey you but we have brought these four along to tell you of the dangers you are living in," she said, nodding to Eduardo, Blu, Venus and Jupiter. Pluto then nodded to Eduardo and he began to speak.

"So, Rudi, I have heard that you and your tribe have managed to survive that siege from the flying foxes?" he said, "Well that is surprising, considering what those flying furballs are like when they drive out a bird tribe or clan…"

"Don't mention that horrific event," snapped Rudi brusquely, "We find it too upsetting."

Eduardo flinched at Rudi's rather impolite attitude, so Blu spoke.

"Hey, don't talk to my father-in-law like that;" he said indignantly, "He was only expressing his surprise."

Rudi just shrugged and then moved onto the main subject.

"So, why are you here?" he growled. The other glaucous macaws also glared at Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blu, Eduardo, Jupiter and Venus.

"Well, after what Pluto and Lapis Lazuli have told me about you lot," replied Eduardo, "We have decided to come and help them tell you of your vulnerability to logging and poaching and also to those flying foxes should they ever plan to attack you again."

"You see," said Pluto, "You are the last flock of glaucous macaws alive and those humans called ornithologists are searching everywhere for you to include you in the sanctuary for protection against logging and poaching. You lot need protection from those two destructive activities and the only way to get that is to trust those humans who care for the environment."

Rudi, at this, let loose a scoffing laugh.

"Haven't I made told you about that stupid idea?" he growled, "We don't need those pesky humans to help us survive!"

"Yeah," added Valeria, "We're fine without their help, and we just can't trust those humans anyway!"

Many of the other glaucous macaws also cried out the agreement. Eduardo then stepped in.

"Let me tell you how my tribe has become under the protection from logging and poaching and of our previous attitude towards all humans," he said. Rudi and the other glaucous macaws then began to listen with scowls on their faces as Eduardo launched into an explanation.

"Before my daughter Jewel's return and long before that including when my daughter and some other tribe members were separated from the rest of us during the fire, we used to have a very antagonistic attitude towards all humans, including well-meaning humans, as we have had a lot of nasty experiences involving their destruction of the environment such as through logging and capturing animals to smuggle out of this country. We hated humans and everything to do with them, including macaws with ties with them…"

Blu sighed as he remembered the prejudice he faced from the Spix macaw tribe because of his history as a human's companion.

"But when we finally learned that not all humans are bad with the environment and that some actually care for it and the animals that live in it," continued Eduardo, "Including me, we eventually changed our attitude towards them and had learned to trust these caring humans, including Blu's former human companion named Linda."

"Absolutely," said Blu in agreement, "And now because of Linda and another human called Tulio, the Spix tribe's home, alongside that of their neighbours including the red tribe, are now a protected nature reserve safe from logging and poaching but Eduardo and his tribe had to reveal themselves to those humans first for it to happen."

This was met by scornful jeering and scoffing from the glaucous macaws.

"Oh, so you have allowed those pesky humans to set your home up as a 'sanctuary' or something?" laughed Rudi, mockingly gesturing the quotation mark sign with his wing feathers as he said 'sanctuary', "You're such a nutjob, putting your tribe at serious risk revealing yourselves to those pests."

"But it's true!" retorted Blu before Eduardo could boil in anger at the insult. He remembered calling Eduardo a nutjob behind his back and felt guilty about it, but he was expressing his frustration about Eduardo's prejudice to Nico, Pedro and Rafael at the time, when Eduardo did not like him at the time. "Our tribe's home and that of our neighbours has been set up as a nature reserve thanks to Tulio and Linda my human companion."

"Maybe they've set up your home so that poachers could find you and poach you," sneered one of the glaucous macaws mockingly.

"It's NOT LIKE THAT!" snapped Blu angrily, making Pluto and Lapis Lazuli flinch, "It's for the conservation of our species!"

"Yes, you see, these humans care for our species' existence," said Jupiter, "Especially critically endangered species like the Spix macaw for example…" He gestured to Blu, Venus and Eduardo with a wing as he said this, "…and as part of their job, they want to make sure that the Spix macaw is protected from dying out of existence altogether."

"And that's called extinction," said Blu. Jupiter then began to explain to the glaucous macaws the story of the Spix macaw.

"And before the discovery of Eduardo's tribe, Blu, Jewel and their three chicks, together with Zephyr, Venus and their six chicks, and Zephyr's sister Brisa were the _last known fourteen_ Spix macaws alive while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli here, together with their four chicks Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor were the last known glaucous macaws alive and still are to the conservationists until they discover more evidence of your existence."

"Exactly," said Venus, "And to give you a further example of evidence of humans caring for animals, Linda cared for Blu very well in the United States while Pluto, Jupiter and I were cared for by five humans called Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake when we lived in a city called London alongside some of the other macaws including a Lear's macaw named Mercury."

"Until they had to give us up so that we could live in the wild with our mates," said Jupiter, "Especially Venus, Mercury and Pluto because of their species."

Venus, Blu and Pluto nodded in agreement. The scoffing look, however, never left Rudi's face whilst the glaucous macaws behind and around him continued to jeer at the idea of revealing themselves to humans, even well-meaning humans.

"So, what do you think we're gonna do?" asked the glaucous tribe patriarch, "Reveal ourselves to humans just for our very survival? You've got to be joking."

"But it's the only way!" protested Blu.

"You know what would happen if we ever did that?" asked Rudi, "Poachers could come along and attempt to hunt us down to catch us for the pet trade, and that is the last thing we want."

"More like your flock being destroyed by loggers or those flying foxes," said Venus. Then Eduardo flew up and examined the glaucous tribe's makeshift living space. He need not fly around the area as he could tell that the majority of the glaucous macaws were living in nests built on branches of some trees from a distance. When he got a glimpse of the glaucous macaws' living conditions, he was filled with horror. Returning to his perch, Eduardo began to point it out.

"And furthermore, you are vulnerable living out here for one," he said, "And two, you need a proper home to stay in. Living like that is not good for you."

"We have been trying to search for a home for years," snapped Rudi angrily, "ever since we lost our original home to those pesky flying foxes."

"Then why didn't you come to me or any of the other tribe leaders?" asked Eduardo with a frown, "We would have helped look after you and helped you to find a home rather than you lot moving out here and searching for a home by yourselves? I can also see that there are no other bird tribe or clan in sight to help you…"

"We didn't want to bother you guys," said Rudi with a sigh, "and cause competition for food and space."

"Either the Bluewing or Navyfeather hyacinth macaw clans would have helped if you asked for it," said Eduardo. However, Rudi turned his beak up at the idea.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," he replied arrogantly, "We'd deplete those clans' reserves of food on their territory too quickly."

He then turned rather hostile and said, "But as far as that is concerned, I still cannot believe that you have allowed those pesky two legged menaces to discover your existence. You're the Spix tribe patriarch, so you should know better. And don't tell me that the leaders of the other tribes and clans living with you have done the same, have they!?"

"Felipe, the current patriarch of the red macaw tribe did and I'm sure the blue-and-gold macaw tribe and the Bluewing and Navyfeather hyacinth clans and the blue-throated macaw clan has as well," said Jupiter, "But revealing yourselves to those conservationists is the only way you glaucous macaws are going to be safe from logging and poaching. You have to trust those caring humans."

"But they are not going to include your tribe into the sanctuary unless they have more evidence to better confirm your existence," added Venus, "If you don't, you WILL risk face going extinct."

"That's right," added Blu, "Seriously, glaucous macaws, no Amazon animal has ever stood a chance against the destruction of deforestation. I remember seeing the devastation logging causes to the rainforest with my own two eyes when I was looking for Tulio and Linda."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli then looked pleadingly at Rudi and the glaucous macaws, begging them to change their minds, but the arrogant and adamant look never left Rudi and Valeria's faces. In fact, it made Rudi's temper reach boiling point. Finally losing control of it, the glaucous tribe patriarch began to screech.

"WE DON'T WANNA HEAR ANYMORE OF YOUR HUMAN STUFF AND US REVEALING OURSELVES TO THEM," he screeched at the top of his voice, "WE'LL FIND OUR OWN HOME BY OURSELVES. NOW GET OUT OF OUR SIGHT THIS MINUTE OR I'LL SEND SOME OF MY MACAWS TO VICIOUSLY DRIVE YOU OUT!"

After this, some of the glaucous macaws began to shout aggressive comments at Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blu, Venus, Eduardo and Jupiter, much to their shock. The glaucous macaws shouted at the six to leave and never return and Rudi was threatening to send in some of them to drive out the six macaws. Some of the glaucous macaws, however, looked more concerned as the words of Eduardo, Blu, Venus, Jupiter, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli registered in their minds. Eduardo, seeing that Rudi and his tribe were not tolerating their presence any longer, said to the other five, "Let's go back to my tribe's ravine, you five. This is going nowhere."

"But Eduardo," began Blu but Eduardo shot him a 'just do as I say!' glare. Blu obeyed and opened his wings. Eduardo, Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and Jupiter did the same and within moments, the group took off and began to make their way back to the sanctuary.

"Well, at least we tried," said Pluto flatly. Lapis Lazuli, however, looked back with tears in her eyes. The arrogance of the glaucous macaws was unbelievable. Despite their high vulnerability, the glaucous macaws' pride was too heavy to shift. It would take as much as a miracle to convince that flock of arrogant macaws. However, Eduardo, Blu, Venus, Jupiter and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's words did seem to have an effect on some of them and they had begun to doubt Rudi's decision to stay in that spot and send out patrol groups to continue the search for a new home. As the six macaws receded into the distance, Rudi dismissed the tribe as he saw that the confrontation was over and the glaucous macaws dispersed, returning to the trees in which they had built their makeshift home. Back with Lapis Lazuli and the other five, Lapis Lazuli had begun to cry while Pluto wore a disappointed look on his face. At this, Jupiter began to comfort them.

"Oh, don't cry, you two," he said to the couple, "It's the glaucous tribe's loss, not ours."

"I just wish Rudi wasn't so arrogant and just realised what danger his tribe is in," wailed Lapis Lazuli in reply. She then burst into tears as a million thoughts of what the glaucous macaws might face if they continued living like that out here. Blu sighed.

"I don't think they realise just how critically endangered their species is," he said, "When Jewel and I were the last known pair of Spix macaws alive, with only Carla, Bia and Tiago with us, I thought we'd never see another Spix macaw outside our family again until we met Zephyr, Brisa and Venus…"

"And then more Spix macaws, a whole flock of them, was discovered by you, Tulio and Linda," said Venus with a slight smile.

"That's because we have revealed ourselves to those two humans," said Eduardo, "I have swallowed my arrogance to do just that, especially when we had those loggers to deal with thanks to my son-in-law."

And with that, he smiled proudly at Blu who smiled in return.

"That's exactly what Rudi need to do," said Lapis Lazuli, tears still falling from her eyes, "Rudi needs to swallow his pride but we've tried all we can to convince him but he just wouldn't listen."

"It's going to take a miracle to convince those glaucous macaws," said Jupiter as he stole a glance from behind at the glaucous macaws in the distance, "But their arrogance isn't our problem. Anyway, let's get back to our tribes. Ruby will be waiting for me with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto."

"And Zephyr will be waiting for me with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, Azurite and Aurora," said Venus. And with that, the six macaws continued their flight back to the Sanctuary de Amazon.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21- A heatwave hits Brazil**

Four days later, back in Rio, the city's people were up to their usual activities. The streets were swamped with people walking back and forth to different destinations whilst more streets were flooded with stands selling all kinds of items from fruit to objects such as book. The roads were jam packed with cars and other vehicles. On Copacabana Beach, tourists sunbathed, played volleyball or played with kids in the sand or in the sea while above them, hang gliders flew overhead. The Christ the Redeemer statue stood, overlooking the city and dozens of people swamped the statue's base. It truly was busy in Rio, a typical city hustle and bustle. In one part of the street, a certain young woman was taking a family of seven greyhounds out for a walk. Two were adults, one ginger coloured female and one light grey male and the other five were puppies. Two had ginger fur, one hazelnut and the other two had light grey fur. Lucy was taking Dash, Ginger and their puppies Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny out for their daily walk. It had seemed like a long time since their bird friends had left Rio to go to the Amazon and some of the puppies, alongside Veggie and Catina's kittens back home missed the macaws and Travis and his family. Lucy and Susan had returned from their expedition in the Amazon and their search for the green and Lear's macaws. Now that that job has been done and the Lear's and green macaws' homes had been included into the Sanctuary de Amazon, or the sanctuary's area had been expanded to include those two macaw flocks, Susan and Lucy's group had returned to Rio.

"Boy, it sure has been a while since our bird friends have left," said Dash with a smile, "I wonder how they are doing out in the wild jungle."

"I'm so proud that Susan and Lucy's group have managed to find that flock of Lear's macaws," said Ginger, "Now they will be safe from logging and poaching like the Spix macaws."

"Any news on Jeremy's group's search for the glaucous macaws yet, Mom and Dad?" asked Eduarda curiously. Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny, her younger sisters and brothers, also looked up at their parents. Dash and Ginger shook their heads.

"That group of ornithologists did not have any luck so they've also returned home," said Dash, "It's disappointing really. The glaucous macaw is ever such a rare macaw species."

"It's a shame really," said Ginger, "And that picture we saw on the news the other day before our bird friends left really did look like a glaucous macaw."

"They haven't been able to find even a glimmer of another glaucous macaw like that since," said Dash. "Maybe they're so rare that they are difficult to find in the cluttered rainforest."

"The Amazon rainforest is a very complicated habitat, I can tell you," said Ginger, "I remember the complexity of Tijuca Forest when we stayed there for the night after we escaped those poachers but the Amazon rainforest is far more complex than Tijuca."

Dash sighed, also remembering that night.

"Or maybe those macaws are shy?" asked James.

"I don't know but we'll find out," said Ginger, "I heard Susan say that Tulio is going to send another group back in that spot where that glaucous macaw had been spotted anytime soon. He's determined to get that flock of rare macaws found and included in the Sanctuary de Amazon."

Dash, Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny all nodded in agreement. Then the seven greyhounds continued their walk down the street with Lucy. Back home, Susan was cooking lunch. The TV was on and in front of the sofa, also called a couch, a family of six cats lay. Five of them had their eyes glued to the TV while one of them was reading a book. Two of the cats were adults: one male tabby and the other a female calico. The four kittens were a mix of tabby and calico, the mixing of the two cat breed's patterns' most visible on the two females, while the males looked more like the adult male tabby. Veggie, Catina and their kittens Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas were relaxing in front of the TV and Broccoli was reading a book on Amazonian ecology. The program currently on TV was the weather forecast. As Susan then walked in with three bowls filled with cat food and vegetables for Veggie, Broccoli and Daisy and set them down before the six cats, Broccoli said, "Hey, Mom, Dad, did you know that the glaucous macaw used to have a range extending from Brazil to Argentina and some other neighbouring countries? It's surprising how common it used to be before the population drastically declined due to smuggling and habitat loss."

"The glaucous macaw is extremely rare, son," said Veggie, "I'd be surprised if there was a flock of them discovered living in the Amazon, especially after that sighting the other day. Anyway, it's lunch time."

Broccoli then put down the ecology book and went over to one of the food bowls to eat. While the family of cats ate, Susan set the table when the voice of the weather forecaster caught her attention. At this, she stopped setting the table and looked at the TV screen showing a map of Brazil and surrounding countries.

"There is going to be a heatwave in the coming weeks," said the weather forecaster, gesturing to the map with his hands, "Temperatures are expected to rise into the thirties and there will be lots of sunshine…"

The mentioning of this caught Veggie's attention, so he stopped eating and looked at the screen. When he saw the forecast, he widened his eyes slightly in surprise.

"Looks like we've got hot weather in the coming days," he said.

"High temperatures are common in Brazil, especially in summer," said Catina as she ate her lunch, "During some years, the temperatures can soar as high as the forties."

"I remember having hot summers in the UK when I lived in London," said Veggie, "The temperatures were sometimes in the low thirties."

"We're going to have to prepare for this hot weather, dear," said Catina, "It can get extremely hot in Brazil."

Veggie nodded and then continued eating his lunch. Daisy, Collette and Thomas were too focussed on eating lunch to watch the TV. Then a few days later, the heatwave finally came. The city of Rio became flooded with the intense light from the sun as it beamed down its hot rays onto every surface exposed. The temperatures soared as high as the thirties and low forties and there were barely any clouds in the sky. If there was anything there were only a few wisps of cloud dotting the clear blue sky. With the unforgiving heat rays harshly beating down on the city and the forest near it, activity of both humans and animals were affected. In Rio, humans and city animals were trying to search for the cools of the shade provided by the shadows of large objects such as buildings but even in the shade it was very warm. Any surface that was black or dark coloured became hot to the touch and people and animals avoided sitting on anything that was dark coloured. On Copacabana Beach, tourist activity was reduced as it was too hot to play or sunbathe. Every human was sweating like nobody's business and had to carry water bottles around. In the front windows of some electronic and TV shops, the news sent out warnings to everyone to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated. Susan, Dash and Ginger walked past one TV shop and heard these warnings.

"This could be the hottest heatwave we have ever had on record," said a news lady as the two greyhounds and their owner passed by the shop window, "The temperatures are higher than predicted by the weather forecasters and are expected to hover in the forties. It is important to stay hydrated and wear sunscreen at all times…"

Dash sighed as he heard the news lady say this.

"Speaking of dehydration, my mouth feels as dry as the Sahara Desert," he muttered, wincing at the discomfort of his sticky mouth. "I can't wait to fill my face with water."

"Neither can I," gasped Ginger as she struggled to fight the drowsiness from the immense heat and feeling the dryness of her mouth as well. Dash and Ginger had been panting to help release the excess heat for dogs do not sweat in hot weather unlike humans. Ginger then stole a glance from Susan. "Susan's really sweating."

She saw that her face and arms were shiny from sweat. Susan had one hand holding the leads connecting to Ginger and Dash's collars and in the other hand, she carried a water bottle. Susan was gasping with half-asleep eyes. She kept wiping her forehead with her water bottle arm of sweat and was drinking from the water bottle frequently. Around the three, the other people were doing the same. Dash and Ginger's puppies, Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny had decided to stay at home as it was just too hot and uncomfortable for them. Dash then looked at the vehicles passing by on the road. Most of the drivers had their vehicles' windows fully open to allow a breeze into their vehicles to cool them down but since there was barely any breeze, the only thing they often got was a rush of hot air. Dash then cringed when he saw a few parked cars alongside the footpath (also called a sidewalk).

"You know, in weather like this, stationary vehicles, especially if they have their windows shut, often turn into ovens as the sun heats up the interior," he said, "Almost like a greenhouse effect."

"That's exactly true," said Ginger, clearly thirsty and desperate to get back home. Then the two greyhounds and their owner walked on. As soon as Susan had opened the door to her and Lucy's house and had released Dash and Ginger from their leads, the two greyhounds made a beeline for their drinking bowls in the hall and began to drink like crazy. Veggie and Catina, who had been dozing on the sofa with their four kittens Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas and Dash and Ginger's five puppies near a fan, saw Dash and Ginger rush off to the hall where the dogs and cats slept each night. Susan and Lucy had set up a fan in each room to cool the place down due to the immense heat.

"I thought they'd be extremely thirsty after that walk in this blistering heat," said Veggie.

"Susan's very thirsty too," said Catina as she watched Susan refill her water bottle and then drink a lot of it. As Susan did that, Lucy walked in.

"Hi, sis," said Susan after she guzzled down some of the new water from the bottle, "Any news on the glaucous macaws yet?"

Lucy, a slight sombre look on her face, sadly shook her head. "I'm afraid Amy's group has given up their search to come home a while ago, Francisco told me. It's too hot to continue the search but Tulio is planning on sending Jeremy and some other ornithologists back to that spot in the rainforest once everything cools down."

Susan wiped her forehead of sweat again and took another guzzle from her water bottle. "I know, it's scorching out there. I remember having hot summers in England but I never thought that Brazil could face temperatures like this."

Catina sighed and said, "That's because Brazil is a tropical country. It's bound to get blistering heatwaves from time to time."

Veggie then sighed and gazed outside through the window.

"And it's just too hot to go out," he muttered, "I'd love to go out into the garden but with the scorching heat out there, it's just too uncomfortable."

"I know how that often feels," said Catina as she looked down at the snoozing kittens and puppies, "It's just too hot for our kids to play out in the garden."

Then Dash and Ginger came in after drinking their fill.

"Ah, that was good," said Dash as he licked his lips to relish the relief of his rehydrated mouth, "My mouth was so dry you could grow cacti in it."

Ginger sighed and then laid down at the foot of the sofa to rest.

"I'm not surprised," said Veggie, "You dogs lose an awful lot of water through panting to eliminate the excess heat from your body, just like how humans lose a lot of water through sweating to cool down."

Dash just sighed and lay down next to Ginger to rest. Veggie sighed and then began to watch the TV.

"Our bird friends out in the rainforest are not going to be doing much in this weather," he said. It was true. In Tijuca Forest, the rainforest outside Rio, the resident animals were not up to much at all. Most of the birds were hiding in their hollows trying to keep out of the fiery blades of blazing sunlight slicing through the air while other birds that were flying were trying to keep in the shadows provided by the trees. In one hollow, Rafael and Eva were not doing much and were relaxing for they were very hot. Having black feathers didn't really suit this type of weather for black was very good at absorbing heat than most other colours, and Rafael and Eva and other toco and keel-billed toucans wanted to stay in the shade as much as possible to avoid overheating. It was indeed a scorching heatwave in Rio.

In Tulio's Aviary, the ornithologists were up to their usual tasks despite the heat, for there were birds that needed medical attention and care. The air condition system had been switched on so that the place was kept cool so that working conditions and those of the birds were made more comfortable. In one department a group of ornithologists led by Jeremy were writing a report about the glaucous macaws. although Jeremy and his group had had no luck in finding more evidence of the extremely rare macaw species' existence in the Amazon, Jeremy still clung to a glimmer of hope that there was a flock of them somewhere out in that vast rainforest and refused to give up. However, plans of returning to the rainforest had been postponed until the heatwave died down for it was too hot to go back to the rainforest. Near Jeremy and his group, three more ornithologists were examining a certain bird in a cage. This bird had greyish-white feathers, a faded yellow crest, brown eyes, and a large grey beak. A yellow and green piece of attire covered its body and its wings were an utter mess, and the bird had red bags under its eyes (guess who this is!). With the bird was a tiny frog. The frog's body was mostly dark burgundy and fuchsia pink. Its eyes were as mint green and eyelash-like flaps of skin protruded above its eyes. The frog, which was a female was in an extremely happy mood despite the heat and was snuggling up to the head of the bird, which was a male cockatoo. The cockatoo did not look very happy at all. His face was saturated with disgust, despair and anger, not to mention irritation from the frog's constant snuggling up to his face a lot… right in front of the eyes of some ornithologists. The frog had been showering the poor bird with affection ever since they met to go into the Amazon to carry out the cockatoo's plan of revenge on Blu for grounding him for life.

"Oooh, I wish I was out of this miserable place… and soppy mess," moaned the cockatoo in a dreary voice. The frog, in response, snuggled lovingly against his face her arms hugging his beak and cheek.

"But at least we are together, my sweet heartthrob Nigel," crooned the frog and with that, she planted a kiss on the cockatoo's cheek, much to the cockatoo's revulsion. The cockatoo named Nigel sighed and looked up at the ornithologists examining him and the frog with disgusted eyes. The amused smiles marked the three humans' faces as they watched the frog continue to snuggle against Nigel's face.

"You know something, that frog has been behaving like that towards that cockatoo since Tulio found the couple in the Amazon rainforest after discovering the Spix macaws," said one of them, a man. The other two ornithologists, who were another man and a woman, both sniggered.

"Yeah," said the woman, "When I saw that frog on the cockatoo's face, I almost fell over backwards and would have laughed on the floor."

"This is got to be the funniest odd-couple behaviour I have ever observed," said the third ornithologist, the other man. The other two nodded in agreement. Nigel glared at the three ornithologists as they tittered. Then the female frog began to smooch all over his face another four times.

"Oooh, I'm so happy we're together," crooned the frog, "I wanna be with you forever, Nigey-Wigey."

Nigel just sighed and said nothing. Then some chirpy laughter emanated to the left of the cage in which Nigel and the frog were in. at this, Nigel turned and saw some of the bird patients laughing.

"Hey guys, look, it's that ugly cockatoo that caused us trouble when he used to work for those rotten smugglers," said one, a green-winged macaw (not Mars or Chiquitita) whose wing was in a cast, "Looks like he's got himself a rather unusual girlfriend."

"Yeah, absolutely," said another bird, a toucan, "That ought to be a picture for Mauro and his marmoset gang."

The other birds nodded and tittered in agreement. Nigel glared at the group of laughing birds.

"You know something, you useless pretty birds," snarled the cockatoo, his tattered crest raised, "When I get out of this…"

But before he could finish this sentence, the frog became overstuffed with affection.

"Oh, NIGEEEEEEEEL!" cried the frog and with that, she began to give Nigel a huge torrent of kisses all over the face at high speed. She landed so many kisses all over Nigel's face so fast that she looked like she had a dozen heads. Dozens of kissing sounds emanated from the frog. When the three ornithologists and the birds saw this, they burst out laughing.

"Wow, that frog certainly is head over webbed feet in love with this cockatoo, isn't it?" said one of the ornithologists through his laughter. The other two ornithologists were too swamped by the amusing sight to reply. Then after the frog finished smothering Nigel's entire face with kisses and began to snuggle against his cheek again, the three ornithologists managed to gain control of their laughing. They clutched their stomachs as they ached from laughing so hard. The birds also stopped laughing and looked at Nigel with amused smiles on their faces.

"At least we don't have to worry about him being a pest anymore," said another bird, a parakeet.

"Serves him right for losing his feathers," tittered one of the small birds, a spiteful and venomous glare at Nigel, "I'm gonna gossip about that crested slime ball and his little froggy girlfriend with my friends when I'm released."

"Every bird in Rio should hear about Nigel's new girlfriend," said the green-winged macaw, "A cute little frog."

When Nigel heard this, he let loose a sigh as the frog continued snuggling against his face.

 **Meanwhile**

In the Sanctuary de Amazon, the macaw tribes and clans and the other resident animals were not doing much for the sun was casting its blanket of heated light onto the rainforest as well. each blade of sunlight shaft was hot to walk or fly through and the lower levels of the rainforest, right down to the forest floor, was also affected by the heat though it was cooler down at these levels than from the canopy to the treetops. Activity from the macaw tribes and clans was quite low because of the heat as it was too hot to do anything. In the glaucous macaw tribe, Rudi and Valeria were up to their usual activities. A few days after Eduardo, Blu, Venus and Jupiter's visit with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli in an attempt to convince them that they needed protection from logging and poaching, things didn't seem to have changed much with the glaucous macaw tribe. They were just like they were before Lapis Lazuli and Pluto, along with their chicks and Travis and his family had found them. Patrol groups were being sent out and parents raised their chicks. However, many of the glaucous macaws seemed very miserable, and doubt seemed to plague some of them as well. some of the glaucous macaws were concerned about the tribe's position and their vulnerability through living out in the wilderness, and as the words of Eduardo, Blu, Venus, Jupiter, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli echoed in their heads, pointing out that they were in a vulnerable spot, made concern and doubt prick at them even more. Furthermore, the boredom of living in nests built so close together in trees, with few of them having proper hollows, amplified the doubt of these glaucous macaws. However, the other glaucous macaws, those that were unmoved by Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's warnings, had convinced the doubtful tribe members to snap out of it and to forget them. While Rudi, who was working hard to fight the tiredness induced by the immense heat, set up more patrols to send out and continue the search for a home and the eye on the environment for any flying foxes, Valeria stood at the entrance to her and Rudi's makeshift hollow. Inside the couple's hollow, Lorenzo and Alberto were asleep for it was too hot for them to play. Valeria had been swamped with concern for, and the boredom of, the living conditions of the glaucous tribe and their vulnerability. As she watched Rudi send out more patrollers, she released a sigh.

"We've just got to find a new home soon," she muttered, "I'm sick of us living like this."

The other day, Rudi and Valeria had entered into an argument regarding the future of the glaucous macaw tribe. Rudi wants the tribe to remain away from the other macaw tribes and clans while Valeria had been considering taking Eduardo's advice about seeking help. This argument had been going on for two days but Valeria had given up after seeing that the arguing was going nowhere. Valeria then stole a glance from her two sleeping sons and sighed as concerns about their future, alongside the future of the other chicks and young macaws in the tribe flooded her mind.

"What are our descendants going to do in the coming years?" murmured Valeria despairingly. Sighing, she turned to continue to watch her mate send out more patrol groups. In the Spix macaws' ravine, activity in the Spix macaw tribe was not very high. Macaws were in their hollows, trying to stay out of the heat while patrol groups were trying to keep to the shade. Each time a macaw flew through a shaft of sunlight beaming down between the gaps in the above trees; it felt like flying over a fire, only it was cooler. In the Spix macaws' ravine, not very many blue forms decorated the ravine air. Venus was bringing back a few fruit, a Brazil nut and some berries, to her and Zephyr's hollow. Because she was so hot, she didn't feel bothered about bringing back more fruit in one trip. As she flew over the ravine pool in the direction of her tree, a few baby macaws were sitting around in a circle chatting. Among the group were Carla, Bia, Tiago, Matilda and Virgil. Justin was at Zephyr and Venus's tree while Charlotte was out with Zephyr on one of his patrol jobs with some other macaws including Roberto. Carla was listening to her Ipod, Bia was reading a book, Tiago and Matilda were talking about what type of prank they would like to play next, and Matilda was on her back relaxing and talking with another female chick named Turquesa. Virgil was by the pool edge, splashing another chick as a way to cool down. It was clear that the chicks were making friends with the chicks of the other macaws of the tribe, much to Blu, Jewel, Zephyr and Venus's delight. Matilda appeared to have become fast friends with Turquesa, the daughter of a macaw named Maximillian, one of the sentry birds. Turquesa looked a lot like Maximillian. She had a slightly chubby build and a narrow neck and caramel brown eyes like her father. Also like her father Turquesa had a flat sheet of feathers behind her head and had rather faint facial markings that were hard to see from a distance. Unlike Maximillian who had cerulean feathers, Turquesa's feathers were a light blue with a faint green tint, which was an unusual shade of feathers for a Spix macaw. Her name meant 'turquoise' in Spanish based on her feather colour. Maximillian was a widower; his mate had died when Turquesa was still an egg, apparently killed by a harpy eagle during a patrol trip. Despite the grief that came with the loss of his mate, Maximillian committed to raising Turquesa alone and had become impressed that she had befriended one of Zephyr and Venus's four chicks.

"My Mommy was named Edwina," said Turquesa, "She died when a harpy eagle caught her, Daddy told me, while I was still in my egg."

"Oh, that's sad," said Matilda sadly, "Losing your mother while you are still unborn."

Turquesa, with a sad face, nodded. "Daddy told me that Mommy had blue-green feathers just like I do."

"You do look a lot like your dad, actually," said Matilda. She had been introduced to Maximillian by Zephyr when she met Turquesa and had been surprised at how much she resembled him. Moving on and fighting the drowsiness caused by the immense heat, Turquesa asked, "So tell me now more about your past, Matilda."

"We were born in a city called Rio," said Matilda, "in a human's building called an aviary where humans take care of birds and nurse them back to health before releasing them. I was the third of the four chicks to hatch. My older brother Justin was born first, Charlotte, my older sister hatched second, then me, and then Virgil who hatched last."

Turquesa then stole a glance from Virgil as he continued playing in the water with the other chick.

"When I saw that he had blue eyes," said Turquesa, "I was surprised since the rest of you seem to have either yellow or green eyes."

"It's possibly because of some relatives on either Mom or Dad's side had blue eyes," said Matilda, "I know cousin Nuvem and our great-uncle Viento have blue eyes."

"Interesting," said Turquesa.

"Mom claims that he bears a strong resemblance to her father named Erico," said Matilda, "Unfortunately, we have never met him, nor Mom's Mom, or Mom's sisters as they had died when Mom was a chick."

"How did they die?" asked Turquesa.

"Smugglers," said Matilda, "It's too complicated but they died during the chaos caused by smugglers when Mom was little."

Turquesa then turned and looked at Carla, Bia and Tiago.

"So it seems that your three friends over there like a variety of different things," she said with an intrigued smile, "Carla appears to like music, Bia likes animals and Tiago appears to like making pranks with you."

"Bia also likes other sciences including physics, astronomy, and biology," said Matilda as she looked at Blu and Jewel's three chicks, "My oldest brother Justin is into music as well. Charlotte likes soccer and is very good at it and Virgil appears to find nature interesting; I've seen him talk about some science topics with Bia several times."

"That's interesting," said Turquesa, "I like sightseeing and seeing the animals that live on our territory. One day, when I grow up, I wanna be a patroller like Daddy is."

"Interesting," said Matilda. Suddenly, complaining from the other chicks reached the two's ears. At this, Matilda and Turquesa turned and saw a female chick gazing meanly at some of the other chicks. Behind her were two more chicks who appeared to be friends of hers. Turquesa made a distasteful face.

"Oh no, not Aguamarina," she muttered, "And her two friends Benita and Claudia. Stuck up trio of brats they are."

"Those three are brats?" asked Matilda curiously. Turquesa gave her a frown.

"Those three are very smug and boastful pieces of work," she replied. Turquesa then looked at the trio of female macaw chicks. The one at the front of the trio, Aguamarina, was a slender macaw. Her feathers were cerulean and her eyes were a shade of green. Her facial markings were a large blue-white patch around each eye and a band over the top of the beak. Aguamarina's crest was a sleek sheet of feathers running from her crown to her shoulders, where they flicked at the ends. Though she had similar features to Jewel, Aguamarina was not related to her. Her two friends, Benita and Claudia, were also cerulean. Benita has lime green eyes and a flick of feathers on her head while Claudia had brown eyes and a feather ruffle. Both girls were slender and like Aguamarina, both wore condescending looks on their faces as their eyes raked over the other chicks. The other chicks were not impressed. Aguamarina, Claudia and Benita were the 'cool kids' and they often looked down on shy and timid chicks, and also newcomers, especially chicks that had been born in captivity. Because of their attitude, the trio was often shunned by most of the other chicks. As Aguamarina and her two friends sneeringly raked their eyes over the group, one of the male chicks placed his wings on his hips.

"What do you want, Aguamarina?" he asked harshly.

"Now, now, don't get snappy, Garrett," sneered Aguamarina spitefully, "We're wonderin' who you're talking' to."

"Yee-aaaahhh," added Benita and Claudia in agreement. Aguamarina's eyes continued travelling over the bemused chicks until their eyes finally landed on Carla, Bia, Tiago and Virgil behind them playing in the water by the pool's edge with the other chick. Carla, Bia and Tiago, at this, looked up at Aguamarina when they saw her pierce them with her condescending green eyes.

"So, I presume you're some of the city chickies, am I right?" asked the chick spitefully. Benita and Claudia chuckled quietly behind her. Carla, at this, removed a headphone from one of her left ear with a talon and glared at Aguamarina.

"City chickies!?" she retorted, "Who are you calling city chickies?"

Tiago also looked on rather bemused while Bia, who was quite shy, said nothing. Aguamarina's eyes then landed on Bia's book. At this, she reached out with a talon and snatched it right out of Bia's talons.

"Hey," snapped Bia irritated as Aguamarina then looked at it, "That's MY book! Give it back!"

She lashed a talon at her book but Aguamarina pulled it away so that she could miss. Claudia and Benita then laughed. Carla and Tiago, at this, became cross while Virgil and the other chick, having heard Bia's shouts, looked up from the pool.

"Aguamarina," said Garrett, "Don't you dare…"

The proud chick, however, ignored him and quickly flicked through the book.

"I see," crooned Aguamarina spitefully, "You're into the most boring subject that could be invented, Nia."

"Aguamarina, give that back to Bia RIGHT NOW!" growled Matilda, Turquesa standing by her side with her wings on her hips, her face twisted into a scowl.

"Yes, do it or I'll fetch a grownup here," added Tiago. Carla nodded in agreement. Aguamarina continued flicking through the book until she finally burst out laughing.

"Well, if you think this is of any use, Nia," crooned the chick spitefully straight into Bia's face, "Then you oughta think again. All this thing is, it's just a pack of useless material with silly piccies in it."

Bia, at this, flinched at this scathing comment while Carla began to lose patience.

"Give that book back to Bia this MINUTE!" she growled. At this, Aguamarina smiled spitefully at Carla and then did something really nasty. Lifting the book, which was a book about the Amazon animals, Aguamarina tossed the book in the direction of the pool, Benita and Claudia laughing. Bia, at this, gasped and began to try and chase after it but Aguamarina stuck out a foot and tripped her up, sending her flying and landing flat on her face. Virgil tried catching the book but missed. The book then careened into the water of the ravine pool with a tiny splash. Bia, at this, heaved her head and chest off the floor with her wings and when she saw her favourite book in the water, she began erupt into tears. Carla, Tiago, Matilda and Turquesa, at this, rushed to Bia's side and began to help her up while Virgil shot the laughing Aguamarina, Benita and Claudia an enraged glare.

"That was her only book you just threw into the water, Aguamarina," snarled Virgil, his electric blue feathers raised, "How dare you pick on Bia like that!?"

"Oooh, aren't we feisty," said Benita as she continued laughing with Claudia and Aguamarina. Bia continued crying her eyes out while the other chicks looked on, shocked at Aguamarina's act but Aguamarina continued pushing the buttons.

"I wonder how any future friends that nerd bird makes are gonna cope with her love of scientific gobbledegook?" she crooned nastily, "For all I know, I don't think anyone would want nerd bird as a friend anyway, especially if she's gonna be yap on and on about some stupid scientific fact."

And with that, she burst out laughing, Benita and Claudia doing the same. This comment sent hot rage flaring inside Virgil when Bia flinched and began to cry all the more, stung by that comment. Seeing Bia in such a state, the electric blue macaw finally let his temper flash like a lightning bolt. Turquesa, Carla, Matilda and Tiago were also enraged by Aguamarina's remarks about Bia's love of science but what happened next shocked everyone. Virgil began pacing towards Aguamarina, Claudia and Benita while they continued to laugh and, with a talon, grabbed Aguamarina by the neck. Virgil seemed to have inherited his mother Venus's hot temper but he also took after his dad Zephyr in his fierceness, especially when others insult his friends. Aguamarina, shocked as she felt the vice-grip enclosing her neck but not choking her, gasped in horror. Then she found herself gazing into a pair of blue acid clouds packed with lightning bolts.

"Apologise to Bia THIS MINUTE!" screeched Virgil angrily. Aguamarina, at this, whimpered in fright while Benita and Claudia, frightened by Virgil's raging temper, remained rooted to the spot. The other chicks continued standing there, too frightened to move. Then Carla intervened.

"Virgil, please don't do this," she said gently.

"Yes, bro," said Matilda, "If you hurt Aguamarina, you could get into trouble."

"Please, release Aguamarina," said Tiago. Virgil continued holding Aguamarina by the neck until finally, his temper subsided and he released Aguamarina from his grip. However, the rage still remained but in a lower temperature.

"Someone get one of the grownups here," growled Virgil as he looked at the still crying Bia. Aguamarina, Claudia and Benita, upon hearing this, screamed and made a break for it while Garrett volunteered to bring an adult along. However, he did not need to go far as the commotion had already attracted some attention.

"What's been going on?" asked an adult female grown-up voice. At this, Virgil, Carla, Tiago, Matilda and the other chicks looked up and saw four adult macaws, Brisa, Jewel, Blu and Maximillian, Turquesa's father, fly over to the group. It was unbearably hot, and the group looked drowsy, but the situation involving Aguamarina and her two friends has not made the atmosphere a pleasant place to be. When Blu and Jewel saw the crying Bia, they immediately flew over to her.

"Bia," cried Blu in shock. As soon as they were near their daughter, Blu and Jewel hugged her and Bia began sobbing into their tummy feathers. Brisa also flew over to the upset Bia while Virgil, seeing Bia's book still afloat in the pool water, immediate flew off to retrieve it. Maximillian, meanwhile, began to confront the other chicks.

"So tell me, what had happened?" he growled. Turquesa, at this, came forward.

"Aguamarina, Benita and Claudia said some nasty things about Bia, Daddy," she said, "Also, Aguamarina had tossed Bia's book into the pool."

At this, Maximillian turned and saw Virgil bring back the sodden book of Amazon animals. As he touched down and held the waterlogged book in his wings, Matilda and Tiago began to scan the surroundings for any signs of Aguamarina and her two friends. To their frustration, they were nowhere in sight.

"They must have disappeared into some vegetation," said Tiago.

"Yeah, I can't see them anywhere," said Matilda. Then Jewel came in, a furious look on her face.

"Someone contact her mother Mertle," she snarled.

Blu then began to gently lead the still-crying Bia back to his family's tree. Brisa stood looking on in shock.

"I don't believe this," she muttered. Maximillian and Jewel then let loose a sigh each as the other chicks gathered around, Virgil holding up the sodden Amazon animal book. At this, Jewel took it while Maximillian wafted a wing in his face.

"I'll hang this up on a branch to dry," she muttered, "The immense heat will see to this."

"Huh, this heatwave's too uncomfortable," muttered Maximillian, "I hope it doesn't last long."

He then turned to Turquesa and said, "Anyway, I'm going to take Turquesa home for lunch. Come along, my daughter please."

And with that, he opened his wings and took off. Turquesa looked at and said, "Oh, sorry, Matilda, folks, I gotta go. See you next time."

And with that, she took off and followed her dad. Matilda waved to her before turning to Jewel.

"Can I find Aguamarina's mother, Aunt Jewel?" she asked.

"No, leave it to us, Matilda," said Jewel, "We'll see to that. Besides that, Aguamarina's mother, Mertle, has a foul attitude and it seems that her daughter had picked that up."

Matilda, at this, put off the idea. Though she had no idea what Mertle was like for she had not seen her much but based on Jewel's scowl, it seemed that Mertle was a macaw with an attitude problem. When Jewel, along with Roberto, Zephyr, Brisa and their friends had been chicks, Mertle used to look down on them a lot and had had a clique of macaws with her who would agree to almost everything Mertle said. Apart from Ruby and Pearl at the time, Mertle had been one of Jewel's enemies. The two never got along and sometimes even fought. Mertle especially disliked Jewel and had been extremely jealous of her being the daughter of the tribe leader. Even though Mertle had been joyful that Jewel had made a safe return, she still had a strong dislike of her, especially of her mate Blu over his domesticated background. At one point Mertle even scorned Jewel of choosing a 'pet' to be her mate, and sometimes caused her trouble. Because of this, Carla, Bia, Tiago and Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, together with some of the other chicks, had been barred from associating with Mertle's daughter Aguamarina and her friends for they were a bad influence. As Jewel then flew off to her and Blu's tree to put Bia's sodden book on a branch to dry before going over to Mertle's tree to tell her what her daughter Aguamarina and her two friends Benita and Claudia had done to Bia, Virgil and Matilda flew off in the direction of their parents' tree.

"I'll see you guys later," said Matilda as she and her brother flew by Carla and Tiago, "Mom and Dad will be expecting us to be ready for lunch too once Dad and Charlotte return from the patrol. I hope this issue can be resolved quickly."

"Okay, see you, Matilda and Virgil," said Carla. Tiago also waved to the two chicks as they left. Then the brother and sister left in the direction of Blu and Jewel's tree while the other chicks dispersed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22- Gathering food for the drought**

After lunch, Jewel was at the entrance to Mertle's tree with Zephyr, Roberto and Brisa. When Zephyr had returned home with Charlotte after the patrol job and had seen Bia in tears, Brisa had explained everything that had happened between her and Aguamarina to him and Venus, and when Zephyr had heard what Aguamarina, Mertle's daughter, and Claudia and Benita had said to Bia, as well as how Aguamarina threw Bia's book of Amazonian animals into the ravine pool, he had reacted in shock and disgust. Roberto had also been told of the incident and had decided to accompany Jewel to Mertle's tree along with Zephyr and Brisa. The heat was unbearably uncomfortable, and all four macaws were trying to fight off the drowsiness, but they had a problem to sort out.

"Boy, the heat is sapping me of my energy," muttered Zephyr as he shook his head, "Flying around on that patrol in this has worn me out, and Charlotte was struggling to stay awake as well. After this, I'm going straight back to my family's tree."

"I can't believe that Mertle's daughter could be so spiteful," said Roberto disgustedly, "Especially to Bia. Mind you, Mertle herself had always been a problem with us: Ju-Ju because she is Eduardo's daughter and me because of my head feathers."

Besides Jewel, Mertle also looked down on Roberto and often laughed at him for his set of head feathers, often calling him 'mop-head'. And though Roberto liked to show off his singing talent to a number of the female macaws in the tribe at times, especially to Brisa, Roxie the scoremarker and sometimes Jewel (though he had learned to avoid charming Jewel too much for she already had a mate and had become aware of Blu's awareness of his behaviour around Jewel; before, Roberto hadn't noticed this, but he still called Jewel by her childhood nickname), Mertle and her clique of friends were some of the female macaws he didn't particularly like because of their attitude.

"I know," muttered Brisa, "Anyway, let's go."

"Right, I'm going in," said Jewel and with that, she stepped towards the tree. Mertle's tree was one of the smallest trees in the ravine. Because Mertle did not have a very big family, she had chosen this tree to live in. When Aguamarina had been a newborn chick, Metle's mate had died in a logging accident and Mertle had been raising her only daughter since. However, she still kept her foul attitude towards Jewel and some of her friends despite suffering bereavement over the loss of her mate, and it seemed that Aguamarina had picked up on this attitude. Jewel then knocked onto the wood near the rim of the hollow's entrance with a talon. She shook her head to shake away the tiredness from the heat.

"Who's there?" called a voice. It obviously didn't sound very welcoming and friendly. It was laced with feistiness and irritation.

"It's Jewel," called Jewel, barely trying to restrain her temper. "I want to have a word with you."

Brisa, Zephyr and Roberto stood behind Jewel. A few seconds later, the owner of the tree finally made her appearance. Mertle was a bright blue macaw and had green eyes like her daughter Aguamarina but they were a lighter green. Her head feathers were a short cluster behind her head just above the neck and Mertle's front and face were blue-white, similar to Roberto's divided face mask. The blue-white faded to cerulean down Mertle's neck and chest. When Mertle saw Jewel, her beak widened into a smile but it was not a friendly smile. It was a condescending smile.

"Well, hello, Jewelie," she crooned rather mockingly, "What brings you here? You know we're in the middle of a lunch."

She then got a glimpse of Roberto, Zephyr and Brisa behind Jewel and said, "and how are your friends Mop-Head, Zephie and Breezy doin'? I hope Mop-Head's not causin' a domino effect on his female friends with his _awful_ singing, is he?"

Roberto's eyes flashed with slight irritation at the insult.

"None of your immature comments, Mertle," snapped Zephyr, "Let's cut straight to the chase. We're here to have a word with you about your daughter."

Brisa nodded in agreement. She clearly didn't like Mertle at all and was trying to fight the temptation to claw the condescending smile off of Mertle's face. Mertle, at this, made a mocking face in reply to Zephyr's statement.

"Oh, you mean my lovely daughter Aguamarina?" she crooned.

"Yes," snapped Jewel, "We want to tell you what she and her two friends, Benita and Claudia, had done to Bia."

As Jewel mentioned Bia, a cerulean head with green eyes peered around a protrusion of root behind Mertle. Aguamarina timidly looked out from her room and saw Jewel. However, Jewel did not notice Aguamarina's form in the dark hollow.

"Oh, what do you think Aguamarina has done?" asked Mertle, an eyebrow raised above her head. Jewel, at this, rolled her eyes, clearly irritated by Mertle's attitude.

"Your daughter and her friends had said some nasty things about my daughter Bia," she explained, "Aguamarina threw Bia's Amazon animal book into the pool and then said some mean comments to her."

Mertle's face, at this, fell from a condescending look to one of surprise, before an irritated look masked the surprised one.

"Look, Aguamarina is never a very naughty girl," she said with a frown, "She was only teasing and playing. What she says doesn't matter. She was only joking."

"Joking!?" retorted Zephyr, "Snatching a book off another chick and tossing it into the pool is NOT playing! That's bullying!"

"Not to mention making snide remarks," added Brisa.

"Look, you have absolutely NO right to accuse my daughter of being a bully!" snarled Mertle, who was angry now, "Neither do you have any right to accuse me of being a bad mother."

She then put her wings on her hips. "You know something; I think your kids are being oversensitive."

"Oh, why is your skull so thick!?" snapped Jewel in frustration, her head thrown back and her wings in the air, "Do you want Daddy to come and speak to you!?"

"The chick that your daughter has upset is one of Eduardo's granddaughters, you know," put in Zephyr, "We want Aguamarina to apologise to Bia for what she did to and said about her."

At this, Mertle shot the four macaws an angry glare.

"Look, we're in the middle of lunch and I don't want any further interruptions," she retorted harshly, "If you're gonna be so accusing toward my daughter who has done absolutely nothing wrong, I suggest you all leave, or I'll be tellin' Eduardo about this. And if there is anyone who needs to apologise, it's Bia for being oversensitive!"

"But Mertle," began Roberto but Mertle retorted, "Good day!"

And with that, the feisty macaw drew the moss curtains and sealed off the hollow, leaving a dumbfounded Jewel, Roberto, Zephyr and Brisa to stand there.

"That went well," said Zephyr flatly.

"I can't believe she did that," muttered Brisa, "She is so insensitive and nonchalant about her daughter's attitude towards Bia."

"Let's just go," said Jewel, seeing that arguing with that feisty macaw was not going to get anywhere. With that, the four macaws opened their wings and took off. Roberto looked back at Mertle's hollow with an angry glare and his head feathers slightly spiked out.

"Mertle's always been such a problem," he muttered, "She's no better than her parents."

"Tell us about it," muttered Jewel. Zephyr and Brisa just sighed and said nothing as the four continued flying on.

Around four days later, the heatwave continued. The sun continued mercilessly beating the Brazilian landscape down with its furious blades of heated light, and the temperatures remained in the high thirties, low forties. In Rio, both people and animals continued their usual activities but at a slower rate. The majority of buildings had fans or some sort of air conditioning devices set up to cool the places down and people tried desperately to remain hydrated while at the same time conserve water. To make matters worse, there had been no rain over the past few days since the heatwave hit, and conditions were very uncomfortable. At night it was hard to sleep because of the heat still lingering in the air even with the sun absent from the sky. Because there had been no rain, plants and bodies of water in the Amazon rainforest such as rivers and lakes had begun to suffer the effects of the heatwave, which was now revealed to be a drought. As plants lost lots of water, their leaves drooped and the width and diameter of any pools and rivers shrank. In the Spix macaws' ravine, the ravine waterfall had begun to contract due to a reduced volume of water. The ravine pool at the bottom was smaller as it lost water to evaporation from the heat. The trees in the Spix macaws' territory had also been wilting. Eduardo and a few patrollers had been examining the conditions.

"I hope this drought ends, Eduardo," said Roberto, worried for the heatwave's effect on the water and the trees, "Because if it doesn't, we could end up with a food shortage."

As he said this, a group of six macaws, two of them being Zephyr and Venus, flew over the group in the direction of the waterfall, a hoard of fruit of various types (Brazil nuts, berries, etc.) in their beaks and talons. Eduardo had sent out macaws to gather some food upon realising that the heatwave had lasted more than two days. Whenever a drought struck, macaw and other bird tribes and clans would gather food and store it away until the drought ceased, for fruit grew on trees and a lot of the animals in the rainforest fed from the food provided by the plants, and plants needed water. With a water shortage, plants withered and their productivity was affected. The bird tribes and clans had faced droughts before in the past, so they were prepared for this one. As the group of fruit carrying macaws passed by the waterfall and into a cave, they touched down onto the rocky ground and walked over to a large ridge in the side of the cave where more collected fruit was stored. The waterfall cave was massive, able to house the entire Spix macaw tribe with plenty of room to spare. The cave was very long, extending for around fifteen metres back from the waterfall, and branches leading to other caverns were present at irregular intervals along the walls. This was where the Spix macaw tribe took shelter in an event of a fire, and thus this cave was their evacuation point. As the macaws placed their collected fruit with the rest, Venus relished the cooler air in the cave.

"It sure is cooler in her than it is out there, I can tell you," she said. She then examined the massive cave. Some of the macaws with chicks and eggs had moved into here to escape the heat, and Venus saw blue forms dotting the grey and brown background of stone.

"I think I should consider moving our chicks into here as well," said Venus, "It's just too hot in our tree."

"We'll see to that in the evening, Venus," said Zephyr, "But at the moment, we have a job to do."

Venus sighed and prepared to fly back out into the blistering heat with her mate and four companions. Across from the waterfall, Jewel was flying along when she saw six turquoise or blue forms with grey heads perched on a tree under a large cluster of leaves of an above branch out of the sun, a sombre look on their faces. At this, she flew over to the glaucous macaw family.

"Are you six alright?" she asked the glaucous macaws which were Lapis Lazuli, Pluto, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy. She perched on the left of Pluto who had his wing slung around Lapis Lazuli's back. The four chicks were on Lapis Lazuli's right and Lapis Lazuli was sat next to Pluto to his right.

"You have been very quiet for the past few days," said Jewel, her face creased with concern, "Is it the heat?"

"It's not just the drought, Jewel," said Pluto in a low voice, a sad look on his face, "It's the glaucous macaw tribe and Lapis Lazuli's cousin. We just cannot stop thinking about them."

Jewel sighed. "Well, if they don't want our help, then it's their problem, not ours. You must remember that it's not your fault that they won't listen."

Lapis Lazuli looked up at her. "You ought to have seen how they are living and where, Jewel. They're sitting bugs. If they don't move over here onto the sanctuary, either they'll be captured by poachers or decimated by loggers or what's worse, slaughtered by those flying foxes should they attack again. But the thing is Rudi is too arrogant to realise he dangers his tribe is in. that's what's bothering us."

"And since we are the only family of glaucous macaws known to the humans," added Pluto, glancing briefly at Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy, "and that tribe of glaucous macaws hasn't been found yet, that flock of glaucous macaws is going to risk dying out without the humans' knowledge."

"And with this ongoing drought," added Lapis Lazuli, gesturing to the air with a wing, "Those macaws are seriously going to struggle to find food."

Jewel sighed at this. She did not know what to reply or how.

"I'm sorry, you two," she said sadly after a pause, "I just don't know what I can do. I sympathise for your situation but after hearing of your report on the glaucous macaw tribe's stubbornness when you went to confront them with Daddy, Blu, Venus and Jupiter to point out that they are vulnerable, I don't think there is anything that we can do at all."

"That's Rudi's serious problem," muttered Lapis Lazuli, "He's just too stubborn."

"Rudi?" repeated Jewel confused.

"He's Lapis Lazuli's cousin and the new leader of the glaucous macaws," said Pluto, "His father died so Rudi took him over. His mate's called Valeria."

"You know, I'm still surprised that those glaucous macaws are still alive," said Jewel, "I always thought they had been slaughtered by those flying foxes."

She then sighed and stared into space. "Huh, savage furballs, those bats. Roberto lost his entire family to a scout group of some who attacked them without provocation. It was just before he was captured by a poacher."

"You ought not to meet them face to face," said Lapis Lazuli darkly, shivering as she remembered the terrifying furry faces full of scorn, the enormous membranous wings and the weapons of her attackers who had chased her through the jungle after Rodrigo had abandoned her. "Honestly, they are horrible."

Jewel nodded in agreement when a cerulean form flashed out the corner of her eye. At this, she turned and when she saw who it was, she made a bitter scowl on her face with her feathers raised. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli followed Jewel's gaze and when they saw a slender female Spix macaw with lime green eyes glare back at Jewel as she flew past, Pluto asked, "Who's that over there?"

"That's Mertle," growled Jewel bitterly, "One of my rivals and enemies and the mother of Aguamarina."

"Aguamarina?" repeated Pluto confused.

"Oh, isn't she the chick that upset your daughter Bia?" asked Lapis Lazuli, "We heard what had happened from Roberto."

"Yes," replied Jewel, anger and bitterness burning in her teal eyes, "And Mertle had refused to discipline her daughter and hasn't done since that day. We got into a heated argument yesterday about it and when she insulted my mate Blu and also Venus and Zephyr, especially Venus for her pigtails, and also when she allowed her daughter Aguamarina to snatch a Brazil nut off of one of Jupiter's daughters Io. We were at the Spix/red border at the time in the Brazil nut grove and Jupiter and his family were with us. Then when Mertle made an insensitive remark toward Ruby, I snapped and slapped that brat hard across the face and yelled at her that I would be bringing Daddy along to deal with her if she didn't stop that, and then she left in a huff. I will NOT have anyone insulting my friends and family, especially Blu and Ruby. Since then, we just give each other bitter glares."

Jewel then shot Mertle a glare as she disappeared into some trees. "Since that argument she has left us alone, especially after I warned her that I would bring Daddy along. You ought not to mix with her. She has a bad reputation among most macaws."

"Wow," said Pluto, "Why does Mertle have an attitude problem."

"Her parents used to spoil her outright when we were chicks," said Jewel, "And she developed a snobbish and spoilt attitude."

"She must be jealous of you for being the daughter of a tribe leader," said Pluto, "But after what happened at the Spix/red border when you slapped her across the face; it seemed that Mertle hasn't bothered you lately."

Jewel smiled smugly and said, "I'm glad to have done actually. It had appeared to have knocked some sense into her head, and I hope it has."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli looked at Jewel in awe. She was very fierce just like her father Eduardo, and certainly not a macaw to mess with. And though Mertle disliked Jewel, she was always wary of her because of her fierceness and fiery temper. Jewel was like a porcupine. Mess with her and you'd get jabbed by one of her spines of fury.

"Anyway, moving on," said Pluto, "Is the red tribe also gathering food?"

"They are, yes," said Jewel, "Jupiter told us that Felipe was sending out macaws to stock up on food. So are the blue-and-gold macaw tribe, the Bluewing hyacinth Clan, the blue-throated clan and the Navyfeather Clan. I think the green and Lear's macaw tribes will be doing the same."

"Oh, hasn't Mercury and Travis told you the news?" asked Pluto with a smile. Jewel looked at him.

"The green and Lear's tribes' territories have been added to the Sanctuary de Amazon," said Lapis Lazuli, "Our ornithologist friends have managed to find them."

"Well that's good," said Jewel, "At least those tribes will now be safe from logging and poaching."

"Those two tribes are still in conflict with each other though," said Pluto, "Mercury told me that one of Valentino's macaws Archie had cost the Lear's macaw tribe their side of the camu-camu fruit grove during the Lear's tribe's match against the greens in the Pit of Doom by making Mercury kick the ball upward for a green macaw to shoot."

"Oh, that's terrible," gasped Jewel in shock. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli nodded. Lapis Lazuli then looked down at Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy as they lazed around, too hot to do anything.

"But at least Mercury and his family have a place to stay until Valentino changes his mind and brings him back into his tribe," said Pluto, "He evicted him because he is a pet."

"Oh yeah, Mercury, Sapphire and their daughters Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa are staying with us in Roberto's tree, aren't they?" said Lapis Lazuli. Jewel sighed.

"I know, Mercury told me," she said, "It's so unfair and prejudicial. Mind you Daddy would have done the same to Blu but he didn't."

She then heard her name get called. At this, she looked up and saw Blu shout for her.

"Oh aye, Blu wants my help in gathering some food," said Jewel, "I'll see you later."

And with that, she left, leaving the glaucous macaw family alone.

"I hope the glaucous macaws are alright," said Lapis Lazuli, "In droughts like these, finding food and storing it is going to be a seriously difficult task for them."

"I know," murmured Pluto.

At this moment, in the red tribe's territory, scarlet and green-winged macaws were bringing food into their evacuation point, a large cave. Like the Spix macaws, the red macaws had a cave in which to take refuge but their cave was not behind a waterfall. Nearby in a tree, Jupiter was taking a break with Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. They were very hot so they were fanning themselves and had taken shelter in a shade under a large cluster of leaves.

"Hey, guys, didn't you know that plants lose water via transpiration?" asked Ganymede, "That's why those trees and plants are drooping. Their cells are losing turgidity, which is the reason why they are wilting."

"He should have this conversation with Bia from the Spix macaws," said Ruby with a smile as she fanned herself with a wing.

"Definitely," gasped Jupiter as he slumped against the tree trunk from the heat. Io, Europa and Callisto, together with Mars and Chiquitita's chicks, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, were socialised with four other red macaw chicks. It was clear that the six had made some friends, much to the gladness of Jupiter, Ruby, Chiquitita and Mars, the latter two who had gone to help with the food gathering. The three chicks were a female scarlet macaw named Jessie who had become friends with Phobos, a female green-winged macaw named Estelle who had become close friends with Alexandre, a male scarlet macaw named Byron and a male scarlet/green-winged hybrid named Sheldon based on his wing markings. Like every other macaw in the tribe, Sheldon was red and had blue coloured wing feathers and parts of his tail; his were a shade of azure. The band of coverts between the blue and red on his wings were yellow fading to green towards where the blue flight feathers started in addition to some splashes of orange between the yellow band and the red coverts, indicative that Sheldon was a hybrid. Ganymede had pointed out that he was a 'ruby macaw', a cross between a scarlet and a green-winged which was true since Sheldon's mother was a green-winged and his father was a scarlet. Ganymede was too hot to get involved and was just relaxing. The other chicks were talking about Io and company's past and how their parents met.

"Dad told us that he met Mom in Tulio's Aviary," explained Io when Sheldon had asked the question, "A human's building where humans care for birds. Uncle Mars also met Aunt Chiquitita in the same place as well."

"So did our other aunts and uncles," said Europa, "They all met in that same place. Uncles Mercury and Pluto and Aunt Venus met Aunts Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli and Uncle Zephyr in another compartment."

"Were you all born on the same day?" asked Byron as he ate a piece of fig.

"No," said Phobos with a shake of his head. "We were all born on different days but within a small range. One of Aunt Venus and Uncle Zephyr's chicks, , hatched around four days after her older five siblings."

"Her egg had been rather small," said Deimos, "And was presumed infertile but Uncle Jupiter encouraged Aunt and Uncle Venus and Zephyr to continue incubating it, which they did but Aunt Brisa looked after it for them and four days later, was born."

"I've heard that she is unusually small," said Jessie, "I know Missus Chiquitita was born unusually small too, like how you and Deimos are."

"Mom and Dad believe that it is genetic," said Alexandre as he looked at his older but smaller brother and sister, "Since Mom told us that some of her relatives had been quite small too and she must have passed it onto Phobos and Deimos here."

Phobos and Deimos nodded in agreement. Compared to Alexandre and Jessie, they were rather small. That was how Chiquitita had been when she was a chick.

"And Dad is quite large for a scarlet macaw," said Callisto with a nod to Jupiter as he leaned against the tree, tired from the immense heat, "Ganymede and I must have inherited his size."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Ganymede takes on the appearance of Dad when we grow up actually," said Io as she looked at the relaxing Ganymede, "He looks so much like him."

Sheldon then looked at the green, yellow and orange bands on his wings.

"I may look a lot like Dad but I certainly do have some of Mom's features including her blue eyes," he said, "I have inherited her species' green wing bands as you can see here."

Io, Europa, Callisto and Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre examined Sheldon's wings closely. Ruby macaws were not very common in the red macaw tribe but there have been scarlet/green-winged pairings in the past. It sometimes happened amongst bird tribes and clans consisting of one or more very similar species. Estelle then gave the six chicks an inquisitive look; she was keen to know more about their history and their adventures in Rio.

"You know, I would love to meet your non scarlet and green-winged 'cousins'," said Estelle but then she made a disappointed face. "But Mommy and Daddy won't let me visit the territories of the other tribes and clans…"

"Maybe when you become a little older?" asked Alexandre. Estelle just let loose a sigh. Some parents were overprotective of their chicks and preferred that they stay in their tribe's home patch (except for teaching trips out into the rest of the territory) until they were old enough to leave the nest, and Estelle's parents appeared to be one pair. Then Phobos disappeared into thought. He had been awed and amazed by the stories of his parents and his 'aunts' and 'uncles' and how they met based on what Mars and Chiquitita had told them back in Rio. Phobos had been amazed that Jupiter and company had to deal with a group of smugglers assisted by cats led by the violent tempered cat named Brutus who, when he lost his temper, behaved like a feral jungle beast, especially when birds didn't obey his commands, yet at the same time he was taunting and sadistic much like Nigel. Phobos, along with Deimos, Alexandre, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, had been amazed at how Jupiter and company had handled such difficult situations such as escaping from the smugglers' den with half of the group grounded, including Jupiter himself when Brutus tore out some of the primary flight feathers of his left wing, and with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli chained together, like how Blu and Jewel had been which the couple had also told them about. The seven chicks had also been horrified at some parts of the stories of both Blu and Jewel, and of Jupiter and company, such as how Brutus had broken Zephyr's wing, dislocated Ruby's wing, rendered Blu unconscious and almost brutally killed Pluto and Lapis Lazuli during the climactic fight between the birds and the cats and how Nigel had broken Jewel's wing when she tried to help Blu deal with Nigel around a year earlier. But the best bits, the seven chicks believed, was when Blu managed to find the bravado to fall after Jewel when she fell out of the plane despite him not being able to fly, and the couple had their first kiss in mid-air. The same applied to Pluto who had been cowering in the sidelines during the climactic fight, watching his friends get attacked by Brutus and the other cats and cowering until he saw Brutus brutally attacking Lapis Lazuli that he managed to cook up the courage to launch into battle. The fight between him and Brutus had been violent but the climactic moment was when Brutus was in a killing leap at the glaucous macaws, overtaken by his violent, feral temper. Pluto had refused to back down and had begged Lapis Lazuli to flee but Lapis Lazuli didn't. That was when the couple had their first kiss. During this, Jupiter had tackled Brutus away in the nick of time. What bravery, thought Phobos, I wouldn't have been able to do that. Phobos then looked at Jupiter and thought, 'Uncle Jupiter is awesome'. Just then a voice snapped Phobos out of his thoughts.

"Estelle!" called the voice. At this, Estelle popped her head up and looked in the direction of the voices owner. To her dismay, it was her mother and she looked a bit stern.

"Come on, Estelle, back home please," said the mother firmly. Estelle let loose a disappointed groan.

"Oh aye, sorry, I've gotta go," she murmured to the others and with that, she took off and flew after her mother. Jessie watched her leave and emitted a frustrated sigh.

"Estelle's mom and dad never allow her out for very long," she muttered, "Because of that, she never has much time to hang out with us."

"Why's that?" asked Phobos. Byron turned to him.

"Estelle was almost caught by a jaguar when her parents took her to the forest floor a month ago. She wandered away through curiosity," he explained, "But luckily, her parents had managed to snatch her clear from that predator. Since then, her parents had become overprotective of her."

"Has she been allowed to hang out with other chicks?" asked Io.

"Very rarely," said Jessie, "Her parents fear that Estelle might give in to peer pressure and end up being led into danger. Estelle has also been forbidden from being taken out on territory tours with class groups, or simply went with her."

"That's frustrating," said Europa, "I know Mom and Dad sometimes get overprotective too."

Byron, Jessie and Sheldon nodded in agreement.

In the Lear's macaws' ravine, Valentino was overlooking the growing pile of food placed at the entrance to the cavern where the Lear's macaws took refuge during a raging fire. Like the red and the Spix macaws, the Lear's macaws were gathering food and were suffering discomfort from the intense heat of the drought. The streams and waterfalls emptying into the ravine had shrunk so the water streams were more of a trickle than the usual flow rate the Lear's macaws were more familiar with. As the Lear's macaws continued bringing in more collected food, Valentino was still in a sad mood over the loss of the camu-camu fruit grove. Beside him, Rosalind was examining the shrinking streams.

"I don't believe that Archie would do this," he muttered, "First he crosses into the green macaws' side and then costs us our side of the camu-camu fruit grove in the Pit of Doom. Even if it is to evict that human's pet, it was still not acceptable. Now we're going to have to adapt to a diet without those fruit."

"I know how you feel, Valentino dear," said Rosalind as she continued observing the streams, fanning herself with her feathers, "This drought's not helping the mood either."

Valentino sighed. The mood in the Lear's tribe had been rather low since their loss to the green macaws in the Pit of Doom. Since that loss, and the loss of their side of the camu-camu grove, no Lear's macaws had ventured anywhere near the grove since. While Valentino and Rosalind continued lamenting about the loss of the Lear's macaws' camu-camu fruit supply, Waldo came in with some mangoes in his talons. As he placed the mangoes into the fruit pile, he looked up at Valentino as he continued sulking and walked over to him. It had been a few days since the Lear's and the green macaws' territories had been added to the sanctuary and Waldo had told Valentino all that he had observed with Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa the cockatoos, as well as how Mercury ended up as a pet when he was a chick. Valentino had been in disbelief that a group of humans would include the Lear's tribe's home into some sort of reserve to protect it and the macaws themselves from logging and poaching and for the next few days had been thinking about and questioning his and his tribe's view of humans. 'Maybe not all humans are destructive menaces after all', Valentino thought. He had also considered in bringing Mercury and his family back to the tribe. After hearing of his past and what he had been through before being taken to England, as well as his parents' dream of finding other Lear's macaws in the Amazon and his innocence throughout the situation with the green tribe and the camu-camu fruit grove, Valentino had changed his attitude towards Mercury from a prejudicial one to one of sympathy. However, sending some Lear's macaws to bring Mercury and his family back would have to wait. What was more important was preparing for the drought should it last for a few more days. Valentino had hoped that Mercury, Sapphire and their three daughters, and their cockatoo friends, would have been taken in by any other macaw tribe or clan than the green macaws for they were still hostile towards the Lear's macaws. Waldo then prepared to fly back into the Lear's macaws' territory to gather more fruit. Before doing this, he gazed out into the air of the ravine, thoughts about Mercury, Sapphire, Travis, Sunset and their chicks flooding his mind.

"Oh, Mercury and Sapphire," he moaned, getting Mercury's name right this time, "I hope you and your chicks are okay out there."

Then Waldo flapped his wings and took off. In the green macaws' territory, the green macaw tribe was also gathering food and piling it into one of the caves where the green macaws took refuge during a fire. Some of the military and great green macaws carried camu-camu fruit and many of them still had smug looks on their faces as they thought about the Lear's macaws. However, the waves of jubilation over winning the entire camu-camu grove had pretty much died down and the activities of the green tribe had resumed. As green macaws flew into the home patch with the fruit, Alonso and Verde sat on the branch watching. They were taking a break and were sitting under a shade cast by an overhead cluster of leaves out of the blistering sun.

"Boy, it's been like this for several days now," groaned Alonso as he gazed out into the covering of sunlight, "I hope it subsides. The plants are wilting and the lakes and streams are contracting from the heat."

"You should have seen the stream flowing through the camu-camu fruit grove, dear," said Verde as she fanned herself, "It's lost quite a lot of water and is narrower than normal."

Alonso nodded. Just then a green, cerulean, yellow and red form with green eyes appeared and perched beside the couple, eyes drooping from tiredness caused by the heat.

"What's the report on the fruit gathering, Uranus?" asked Alonso.

"It's going fine but some of us are taking more and more breaks," replied Uranus, barely able to keep awake, "It's just so hot. I think I'm in need of a break."

"I suggest you return to your tree and get Esmeralda to take you over for a bit," said Verde. Uranus nodded and then took off. Alonso then turned his eyes back to the group of green macaws as they flew back and forth from where the fruit was being stocked.

"I hope we have enough food to see us through the drought, Verde," he said concerned, "Because if this drought continues for a long time, we could risk facing starvation as the trees and bushes would be too wilted to produce the fruit that we eat."

"I'm sure the other macaw tribes and clans would be able to help us," said Verde. She then felt a flash of sympathy for the Lear's macaws despite having a rotten attitude towards them.

"I hope the Lear's macaws are okay even though they have lost their side of the camu-camu fruit grove," she said.

"They've got enough food to sustain them," said Alonso unworried, "I hope they're looking for alternative food sources to make up for the camu-camu anyway as they won't be getting their side of the grove back after what one of their members did."

Verde nodded in agreement. At this moment in the Bluewing hyacinth Clan and the blue-throated macaw clan's territory, the macaws here were also gathering food and hoarding it into a storage tree just outside the blue-throated macaw clans' home patch. On the edge of the territory, Ceres was out with Violeta, the matriarch of the hyacinth clan the Bluewings and an older female blue-throated macaw named Carolina. The three were searching for some ripe fruit on the edge of the territory, flying through the canopy to avoid the blistering blanket of heated sunlight as much as possible.

"Boy, the lakes and streams have lost quite a lot of water," said Ceres as she browsed the trees, "And the fish and frogs seemed to be suffering."

"Drought always causes water to evaporate from rivers and streams and to be lost from plants," said Violeta, "It's just one of those things."

Ceres sighed and continued looking for some fruit when she flew out into an open space through a gap. When Carolina saw Ceres fly in that direction, she quickly rocketed after the younger blue-throated macaw.

"Ceres!" she squawked, "Get back here!"

Ceres looked back when a dark blue and bright yellow comet flew around and stopped in front of her.

"What is it, Carolina?" she asked. Violeta then flew in, a stern look on her face.

"Fly back in the opposite direction please," she commanded. Ceres was about to ask a question but Violeta gave her a firm glare, so she obeyed.

"Why were you so alarmed?" she asked as the three began to make their journey back into the blue-throated macaws and Blueings' territory. Violeta answered this question by leading Ceres through the canopy and out above the trees. Carolina followed. As the three hovered in the hot air, Violeta pointed a talon in the direction Ceres had been flying in.

"Over there is the flying foxes' territory," she explained, "It's where every Amazonian birds' sworn enemies live."

Ceres then squinted into the distance. To her surprise, the territory of the infamous flying foxes was green like every other part of the Amazon. But then Carolina explained how the bats' territory was different to the birds'.

"In a territory of a bird tribe or clan or a free area," she said, "There are bird calls in the trees but in the bats' territory, the trees are devoid of any birdcall. Those flying foxes detest birds and will kill any of them on the spot. That is why there are no birds over there."

"That is why you stopped me from, flying in that direction?" asked Ceres.

"Yes," said Violeta, "That territory is a minefield to us birds. Any bird caught on the bats' territory, even if they had accidentally wandered there, is slaughtered on the spot. That is why you must _never ever_ fly into that patch. We have a border marker dotting the trees to define the borders' location."

"And what's that?" asked Ceres.

"We use clusters of moulted feathers tied to the trees on the border," said Carolina, "In this case, we use hyacinth and blue-throated feathers to mark the end of our territory. The green macaws also mark their territory border nearest to the outskirts of the flying fox colony's turf so that any green macaws that fly over there will know not to cross it into flying fox territory."

"I see," said Ceres, "I'll have to remember that the next time I come here."

"Good," said Violeta seriously. Then she felt shivers course down her spine.

"Let's get out of here before any of those bats show up," she murmured timidly, facing in the direction of the flying foxes' territory outskirts as though some of the bats were about to jump out at the trio, "I don't want them to think we're planning on entering their territory when we're not. Also let's get out of this heat."

And with that, the three hurried back down into the canopy and in the direction of the two macaw clans' home patches.

"Those flying foxes must be suffering the effects of the drought as well," said Ceres.

"They will be doing," said Violeta, "But let's not talk about them. What's more important is gathering food in preparation for the coming days."

"You look a bit on edge," said Ceres.

"I sometimes worry that those flying foxes might start planning to attack us any day," said Violeta edgily, her silky voice slightly broken from fear, "You see, we have made a truce with Bruto and Sombra, Cicatriz and Augustus' parents who used to lead the colony that we won't trespass into their territory and they wouldn't do the same to ours but now that those two had passed away with Cicatriz and his mate Iracebeth taking over, we don't know how long that'll last."

"We don't trust those flying foxes one bit," said Carolina with a frown, "And though we have had no suspicious activity from those bats, which we're glad for, we're keeping a close eye on that border to make sure that they stay that way."

Ceres made a worried look before following Violeta and Carolina back into the Bluewing Clan and blue-throated macaws' territory.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23- the gathering of food continues and a lethal mistake**

In the blue-throated macaw clan and the Bluewing Clan's home patch, Cobalto was checking the food stock in a smaller compartment next to the entrance to his and Ceres's tree while Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur were up in their room for it was too hot to for them to go out and play with their new friends. Besides hoarding food into a chosen spot, some of the macaws of both the blue-throated clan and the Bluewing Clan had also gathered food into their hollows individually as well. Ceres and Cobalto's tree had another smaller hollow beside their main living hollow and though it was too small for a macaw to make its home in, Cobalto had managed to find an ideal use for it and that was to store fruit in it for it was large enough to hold some food. While Cobalto did this, Hugo flew in and landed beside him.

"Hi, Cobalto, how are you doing?" he asked, barely able to shake the drowsiness from his eyes.

"Fine thanks, buddy," said Cobalto as he checked the amount of gathered fruit he and Ceres and placed in the separate hollow, "Very hot, though. Our sons are in the upper room trying to stay out of the heat."

"I know," moaned Hugo, fanning himself with a wing, "Our son and daughter, Jose and Donna, are also in their rooms. There aren't very many of our chicks or the hyacinth chicks from the Bluewing Clan around at all because of this heat."

"The plants and the bodies of water are suffering terribly," said Cobalto, "When I flew over a lake just outside of our home patch with Ceres and a collection of fruit a while ago before she left with Violeta and Carolina to look for some food on the edge of the territory, I was shocked to see how much it had shrunk. The fish and tadpoles were helplessly stranded around the edge of the lake."

"Well, after a drought, heavy rains are due," said Hugo, a hopeful smile on his face, "But the question is, when the rains will come."

"That's what I'm worried about," muttered Cobalto as he looked inside the food storage hollow one last time. Satisfied that his family will have enough fruit to last them for a few days, Cobalto said, "Right, I'm finished for a while with a need of a break out of this blazing sunlight."

And with that, he left for the entrance of the hollow and disappeared into the tree. "Let me know if you need any help, Hugo, okay?" he said as he entered the tree.

"Okay, I will," said Hugo and with that, he opened his wings and took off. In the territory of the other hyacinth macaw clan on the sanctuary, the Navyfeathers, Flavio, Marinho, Ultramarine and Neptune were flying through their clan's territory trees looking for some food. The four hyacinth macaws were horrified to see the drooping leaves on so many plants and like everyone else, they were very hot.

"Look at that," gasped Ultramarine as she observed the wilted trees, "Those plants sure have lost a lot of water, haven't they?"

"Have you ever faced droughts like this before?" asked Neptune.

"We have always faced droughts and hot weather for generations," replied Flavio, "And this one isn't any different. That's one of the downsides of living in a tropical rainforest, I'm afraid."

"I remember during my time in the UK, we sometimes got hot summers but the winters were sometimes absolutely freezing," said Neptune, "Total opposite to what Brazil gets sometimes. I remember some years our houses and other things in London were covered with snow."

When the other three gave him a confused look when he mentioned 'snow', Neptune began to explain.

"Sorry, it's white stuff that is freezing to the touch," he said, "And it falls from the sky like rain but as much colder and fluffier flakes rather than drops."

"We never get raindrops as icy flakes here," said Marinho, "The United Kingdom must face some quite extreme weather fluctuations with the seasons."

"Sometimes," said Neptune. He then shook his head to shake away the tiredness.

"Indigo and Triton, together with their new friends including Victor hadn't been very active lately because of this," he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if the activity of the chicks of the other bird tribes and clans is vastly reduced as well."

"I'd agree," said Ultramarine, "It's just too hot for our kids to play."

The four hyacinth macaws continued flying on through the wilting trees looking for fruit to bring back to their evacuation point, another cave. Around them, some other navy blue macaws were also flying about, either bringing food back to the pile in the clan's home patch or foraging. However, the four were about to meet some friends Flavio and Marinho knew. Neptune flinched when he heard Marinhi shout, "Hi, Fedor, Falkor, Ámbar! How are you three doing?"

"We haven't seen you three for quite some time," said Flavio. At this, Neptune looked up and saw three forms ahead of the quartet wave to the four hyacinth macaws. One of them was a hoatzin and the other two were macaws. However, they weren't species of macaws Neptune had ever seen at all. one of the macaws looked like a blue-and-gold but its back was ivory instead of aqua blue and the other looked like a large hyacinth-sized dark teal and green macaw with dark blue wing and tail flight feathers and chest.

"Who are those three?" asked Neptune. Ultramarine began to explain to him.

"They're three of my brother and uncle's friends," she said, "Especially Fedor, the hoatzin. They're some of the non-tribe or clan birds and just live on our territory as non-tribe or clan residents."

"And who are those two macaws?" asked Neptune, nodding to the odd looking macaws. Ultramarine looked at them.

"That large green and blue macaw is Falkor, a milicinth macaw or a cross between a hyacinth and a military macaw. His mother was a military and his father was a hyacinth and one of our clan members, so technically, Falkor is part of our clan. However, he has chosen to love as a non-clan resident on our territory as he had become close friends with many of the birds here. Ámbar is a blue-and-gold macaw who had chosen to move from Soleado's tribe to live here because she felt like an oddball amongst her fellow blue-and-golds."

"Blue-and-gold macaw?" repeated Neptune as he looked at the golden yellow and cream form, "She doesn't look like one to me."

"Ámbar is a mutant blue-and-gold as she was born that way," said Ultramarine, "She must have inherited a faulty gene that prevented the production of blue and green pigments in the back parts of blue-and-gold macaws, which is why her back and wing and tail topsides are ivory rather than aqua blue as seen in a normal blue-and-gold."

"Interesting," said Neptune, "Bia and Ganymede ought to be the two macaws to ask about genetics. They're real Einsteins in that topic along with physics, nature and biology."

"Einsteins?" repeated Marinho confused.

"Albert Einstein was a really intelligent physicist," said Neptune, "And very clever. That's how Ganymede and Bia are."

Just then, the four hyacinth macaws were near the trio. Flavio had already greeted the three birds and had begun to introduce them to Ultramarine and Neptune.

"Fedor, Falkor and Ámbar, this is Neptune and Ultramarine," said Flavio with a wing gesture to the latter two. At this, Neptune and Ultramarine began to introduce themselves to the three. Fedor was a hoatzin. Like all hoatzins, he had a plump body with a lanky neck and head. A cluster of spiky brown-orange feathers adorned his head and his eyes were surrounded by a bright blue patch of skin. Fedor's back and the back of his head was black with white dashes strewn in them in a pattern. Fedor's front and belly were pale orange and his wing flight feathers were a rusty brown colour on the primaries and a darker brown-black on the secondaries. His tail was black with brownish tips and based on his vibrant and youthful appearance, Fedor did not look very old. His eyes were brown. Fedor's name meant 'stench' in Portuguese for hoatzins were known for having a smelly breath caused by the fermentation of fruit in their guts. However, despite his smelly nature, Fedor was a kind and friendly hoatzin and close friends with the Navtyfeather Clan, especially Flavio and Marinho. Falkor was a massive macaw, around the same size of a hyacinth macaw. Most of his body was covered in green and teal coloured feathers but his wing and tail flight feathers were dark navy blue like a hyacinth macaw, as were some of the feathers on his chest. Like all hyacinth macaws he had a beak lappet and a strip of skin enclosing his eyes. However, they were a paler yellow than in pure blood hyacinth macaws. His beak and feet were black and his eyes were amber coloured. Falkor had an unusual crest that appeared to be in two parts. Both pointed backward from behind his head but some of the feathers curved upward while the other feathers curved downward below the first set, giving Falkor's crest a y-shaped appearance. Falkor had a stocky build and appeared quite well-built. Ámbar was a slender mutant blue-and-gold macaw. Like Ultramarine said, she had no sliver of blue whatsoever on her back parts. Those parts which were aqua blue like on normal blue-and-golds were instead an ivory colour, but Ámbar's undersides and belly were golden yellow. Ámbar had a simple flick of feathers on her crown and pale pink eyes. Her beak and feet were also pale and were almost white rather than black as in most blue-and-gold macaws. Ámbar's mutation was very rare and so far, to the macaws and the other birds' knowledge, she was the only mutant blue-and-gold of her type documented. After Ámbar, Falkor and Fedor introduced themselves to Ultramarine and Neptune, Fedor said to Ultramarine, "Well, I'm glad to hear that you have managed to return after your disappearance in that fire years ago. I actually thought you were one of the unfortunate macaws who had died rather than gone missing in that inferno based on what your uncle Flavio told me."

"We also heard that the other macaw tribes and clans had also lost some of their members to the fire too," said Falkor, "Felipe's brother Oscar and Eduardo's daughter Jewel being two of them."

"Oh, it's been a very traumatising time for all of us," said Flavio as he shuddered at the memories. Ultramarine also quivered as she remembered having to fly through the inferno with all the vegetation on fire, trees ablaze and the sounds of distressed animals caught. Then Flavio moved on.

"So, how are you doing in your tasks with caring for the injured and refugee birds in your cave, you three?" he asked.

"Injured and refugee?" repeated Neptune confused.

"Falkor, Ámbar and Fedor help with caring for any bird that had been injured," explained Marinho, "They are excellent medical carers and had been a big help to some of the red-fronted macaw survivors that had fled to here after the flying foxes had driven them out of their home. However, they are assisted by some of the other non-tribe or clan bird residents such as a family of golden conures."

"That's true," said Fedor, "It had been a busy time caring for those severely traumatised red-fronted birds. They needed our help twenty-four-seven for several weeks and they still need it now. We've only just come out here for a break."

The hoatzin then leaned back against a tree trunk and sighed. "Boy, it sure is hot out here. Some of the birds in our cave infirmary had been refusing to come out due to the intense heat."

"Especially those with black feathers," said Falkor, "Since black is apparently better at absorbing heat than any other colour."

Neptune sighed. Then something came into his head.

"Oh, have you three heard any news about the glaucous macaw tribe?" he asked. Falkor, Ámbar and Fedor looked at him.

"What do you mean?" asked Ámbar, "They've been decimated by those flying furballs when they came and invaded their home."

"They're still alive but the tribe is smaller than it once was, and they're living like refugees outside the sanctuary," said Neptune, "Roxie from the Spix macaw tribe told us about it when she visited us at the Navyfeather/Spix border."

"It had been a real shock and surprise to us," said Flavio, "Normally, when a bird tribe or clan has their home invaded by those bats, the chances of more than a hundred coming out alive are incredibly slim. When the red-fronted macaw survivors managed to escape while everyone else was slaughtered by those bats when they invaded their home there were only a few dozen of them…"

"Well, of those glaucous macaws are still alive," said Falkor, "Then they need to move to the sanctuary for their own safety."

"Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Eduardo, Blu, Venus and Jupiter had tried to convince the glaucous macaw tribe of that," said Ultramarine, "But their leader, Rudi who is Lapis Lazuli's cousin, was too stubborn to listen and had forcefully told the six to leave. Since then, they hadn't bothered that tribe."

"But those glaucous macaws are extremely rare," said Fedor, "They need to move to this part of the jungle where they'll be safe from logging and poaching."

"We wouldn't mind hosting some of them in our cave," said Ámbar.

"I wouldn't bother," said Flavio, "If they're not gonna listen even to Eduardo, they'll not listen to you."

He then looked back and said, "Anyway, we'd better go. We've got fruit to gather and you've got your duties too."

"Yeah, you'd better be off," said Fedor, "We've been gathering some food into our cave too. We'll see you later."

"It's nice to meet you, Neptune and Ultramarine," said Ámbar, "Especially you Ultramarine, after hearing how long you've been gone since the fire."

Ultramarine and Neptune smiled and with that, they took off, followed by Flavio and Marinho to continue their task of gathering fruit while Fedor, Falkor and Ámbar left for their cave after their break.

In the blue-and-gold macaws' territory, the blue-and-gold macaws were also gathering food. Saturn and Orquidea were taking their large brood, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus out for a flight to take a break from the job. The nine macaws kept to the shadows of the canopy where it was cooler but it still felt very hot. The shafts of sunlight shining through the gaps in the canopy felt like hot blades and Saturn could clearly feel the heat in them every time he inserted a wing into one. Around the family, aqua blue and yellow forms with green foreheads were flying around, many gathering fruit.

"Boy, I'd never thought that Brazil could have temperatures as high as this," said Saturn as they passed another blade of sunlight shining into the canopy.

"They sometimes do get very high," said Orquidea, "To the point of plants losing so much water."

Saturn looked at a shorter tree as she said this and his face fell when he saw its drooping leaves.

"Those plants are in desperate need of water, I can tell you," he said. Beside him, Mimas and her six siblings looked drowsy.

"We'd love to play tag with our friends," moaned Mimas, "But not while it's too hot."

"Our friends Brooke and Bastian weren't bothered about playing tag with us, anyway," said Enceladus, "It's just too hot for energetic games like tag."

"What are we going to do then?" asked Tethys, Dione and Rhea together.

"We can't just sit in our rooms all the time," muttered Tethys.

"We'd get bored," added Dione with a frown. Titan and Iapetus also moaned in agreement. Saturn looked at the seven chicks.

"That is why we are taking you lot on this outing," he said slightly irritated, a little more harshly than he intended. The heat was making some of the macaws snappy besides tired. When Saturn realised that he had said what he said too harshly, and seeing the timid looks on his kids' faces, Saturn gave an apologetic look.

"Sorry for snapping back at you, kids," he said, "It's this heat making me moody."

"Huh, so have some of the rest of us," muttered Orquidea, her eyes half open, "Ignacio, our Pit of Doom team's captain had been a bit argumentative with his mate Sandra a while ago because he was so tired from the heat. Thankfully the couple have made up after Ignacio apologised and Ignacio had apologised to their daughter Brooke for frightening her."

Saturn sighed and continued flying on. Suddenly, the large family of nine heard commotion and saw a small crowd of several blue-and-gold macaws gathered in a branch of a tree, uttering horrified gasps and murmurs. At this, Orquidea became curious and filled with dread upon seeing the gathering.

"That doesn't sound good," she said, "What's going on over there?"

At this, Saturn led the family towards the gathering. As they perched beside one of the horrified macaws, Saturn began to ask him.

"What's going on, Henrique?" asked Saturn. The macaw, named Henrique, who was one of Orquidea's friends when they were chicks, turned and looked at him and Orquidea.

"A seriously injured parakeet has just entered our territory," he said, "And it's just being carried away to our home patch for treatment."

"Injured parakeet?" repeated Orquidea. Just then, four blue-and-gold macaws carrying a large leaf like a hammock appeared from through the trees. Saturn tried to get a glimpse of the contents of the hammock but couldn't see from this distance. Then as the four macaws approached the group, the one at the front called out, "Everyone out of the way! This is an emergency. This amazon has been seriously injured by a group of flying foxes outside the Sanctuary de Amazon."

At this, the gathering, with a horrified gasp, parted to allow the four macaws carrying the hammock through. The hammock was now close enough for Saturn and his family to see the parakeet inside. However, when they caught a glimpse of the injured bird, Mimas emitted a piercing scream while Iapetus felt his stomach lurch. The parakeet, which appeared to be of the Jandaya species based on its orange body and green wings, looked severely battered and bruised. It was covered in bleeding cuts and bruises and in extreme pain. Saturn and Orquidea immediately flew to the front of their seven chicks and spread their wings out to screen the parakeet from view. Then after the four macaws carrying the hammock flew past, the gathered macaws including Saturn and his family, followed. In the blue-and-gold macaws' home patch, the Jandaya parakeet had been admitted to the medical attention part of the patch. A sea of aqua blue and yellow macaws with green foreheads had gathered around the biggest of the hospital trees. Among the crowd was Saturn. Orquidea had taken the seven chicks back to their tree to prevent them from seeing the parakeet again. At the front of the crowd was Soleado. His green eyes, which were flooded with shock upon hearing the news about the parakeet, watched the entrance to the big tree. There was silence like that of death overshadowing the aqua blue or turquoise, yellow and green sea but after a while, a blue-and-gold macaw, the leader of the tribe nurses, finally emerged from the tree. Soleado went over to him.

"How is the parakeet, Marcus?" he asked.

"Severely injured," said Marcus, a sombre look on his face, "It's obvious that a harpy eagle hasn't attacked him."

Behind Marcus, two more tribe nurses came out.

"It's definite that the parakeet had been attacked by a group of flying foxes," said one of them, a female, "based on the injuries he has received."

"Was the parakeet in our territory when it happened?" asked Soleado. Marcus shook his head much to Soleado and the crowd's relief. Saturn, however, looked on slightly worried.

"The parakeet told us that he was flying along the outskirts of the Sanctuary de Amazon looking for some fruit for his family when suddenly, he was ambushed by a group of three bats," explained Marcus, "He wouldn't tell me how they had beaten him up but that's the story."

Soleado made a concerned expression while the crowd looked worried and began to murmur. Turning to the crowd, Soleado began to calm them.

"Can I have your attention please?" he called. The crowd stopped murmuring and listened to their patriarch. Zoie was at the back.

"I hope this incident is the only one," said Soleado, "But I want you all to listen to these safety rules. There will be absolutely no macaws flying around near where border meets the unowned zone separating our border from that of the flying foxes' territory. I am going to be sending patrol groups daily to keep an eye on that border to make sure that there are no more suspicious flying fox activity. While I do that, I don't want you lot to worry about what has happened today. Also make sure that any non-tribe bird living on our sanctuary, and our kids, stays well away from our border nearest to the flying foxes' territory. Do I make myself clear?"

The crowd all called out, 'yes'. Satisfied, Soleado dismissed the crowd and the sea of aqua blue, yellow and green dispersed to the trees. As the macaws left, Saturn came up to Soleado, a seriously worried look marking his face.

"I hope those flying foxes are not planning on anything suspicious, are they?" asked Saturn.

"That's why I'm going to be sending patrol groups over there, Saturn," said Soleado with his wings up, "To keep an eye on the border."

He then gave Saturn a firm eye and said, "And make sure that your seven chicks stay well away from that part of our territory border. Those bats are highly dangerous to chicks and the last thing you need is losing any of your seven kids to those flying furballs. Is that clear?"

"Yes," said Saturn. He then fanned himself with a wing as he felt the heat.

"You should get yourself into some shade," said Soleado, "I can see you're overheating in the sun."

Saturn obeyed and flew off in the direction of his and his family's tree while Soleado flew off in the direction where his mate Zoie waited for him.

The hot day continued rolling by and the macaws of all the tribes and clans living on the sanctuary continued gathering food, as did the non-tribe and clan birds. The non-avian animal residents, the mammals and reptiles were trying to stay out of the heated blades of sunlight that slashed through the air, while fish and amphibians had moved on to try and search for deeper water to escape the shrinking water upstream. However, some of the fish were not so fortunate and had been caught in the crevices and craters in the banks of the rivers and lakes as the water receded, completely exposed to the hot blanket of sunlight. The fish flapped and flailed around madly to try and get back into the water but in a short time, they will not last long. The receding lakes and rivers were seen by all the macaws and other land animals in the sanctuary, and they were disturbed, hoping that the rains would come soon to replenish the evaporated water in them. The trees and other plants were also gasping for water as their leaves continued to droop as they lost more water. The fruit trees were beginning to struggle to grow fruit fit enough to eat due to lack of water. Expeditions of ecology groups had been put on hold for it was too hot to go out into the Amazon, though a few news reporters had been sent to record the effects of the drought on the plants, animals and rivers. While all the macaw tribes and clans and the other resident birds were working together to gather whatever food fit enough to eat in preparation for the next few days on the sanctuary, one small tribe of very rare birds were struggling dearly. Rudi and his tribe had been struggling to find enough fruit to sustain themselves in the coming days. Because of their location in the wilderness, there weren't many fruit tree or bush groves nearby and with many of the trees wilting and their fruit becoming less fir for eating due to the dryness, alongside the heat of the sun, the glaucous macaws were going through an extremely rough time. Many of the macaws were inactive due to the heat and the gathering of fruit had slowed down, but Rudi insisted that the foragers continue. The food had been hoarded into small hollows of the trees nearby where the glaucous macaws were currently living. As Rudi and Valeria watched the foragers who were struggling to fight the tiredness caused by the intense heat, place whatever food they had found into the storage hollows. Valeria was clearly plagued with worry.

"When is this drought gonna end, Rudi?" she muttered, fanning herself with a wing, "It's putting immense strain on all of us. Half of us are refusing to sleep at night because of the heat and a lot of us are refusing to budge from the shades under the leaf clusters."

Rudi examined the amount of fruit gathered by the foraging group as it was placed into the storage hollows. Then the macaws had backed away to allow their leader to examine the stocks in each tree. After a while of doing this, Rudi made a frown.

"This is only going to last us for about two days," he muttered.

"That's all we can find," said one of the foragers, "We've looked absolutely everywhere for fruit fit to eat but most of the fruit had dried out."

"This drought has to end soon," said another forager, a female, "Because if it continues after we have depleted this stock of fruit, the tribe will be faced with starvation."

Valeria then put her wings on her hips and made a scowl on her face at her mate.

"I think it's about time we considered our decision to stay out here, Rudi," she growled, "I'm considering sending two or three glaucous macaws to that Spix macaw who claims to be the leader of the Spix macaw tribe to see if they or any of the other bird tribe or clan can help us out."

Rudi, at this, shot her a glare.

"When they've allowed those pesky humans to set their homes up as some sort of poaching reserve," he retorted, "I think not!"

"Look, poaching reserve or not," snapped Valeria, "I can see how desperate our tribe needs help. We've struggled out here for years with poor living conditions and no success of searching for a suitable home. I'm getting absolutely sick of it, and I'm sure you are too."

"Valeria," began Rudi but Valeria swept on. "Look, consider our chicks. Not just our two sons Alberto and Lorenzo, but all the chick of the entire tribe. They're the next generation of our tribe after us and they'll likely be inheriting this shoddy so-called 'home' after our generation retires."

She then turned round and slapped a wing against a branch and continued, "I don't want either Alberto or Lorenzo, whichever of them becomes tribe leader after us, to succeed us in these conditions. We have to do something!"

"I told you we cannot bother the other bird tribes and clans!" shouted Rudi, who was very angry this time. "We'd cause them competition for space and food."

"Well our tribe is suffering greatly out here," retorted Valeria angrily. The foragers watched their leaders argue and some of them took a step back. Then Rudi decided to stop the argument before it got out of hand.

"I'm going back to our hollow to think about this," he said and with that, he spread his wings and took off, leaving Valeria to glare after him.

"Then do it," she shouted after him, "Because I'm getting sick of us living like this."

However, Rudi was already out of earshot to hear it. Valeria then turned to the foraging group and dismissed them.

The heated day continued passing by and soon, it was coming close to sunset, the sun, still mercilessly beating the rainforest and human's places with its shafts of heated light, was sinking towards the western horizon. The diurnal animals including the macaws were preparing to turn in for another uneasy night's rest. So were a group of humans and their machines used for cutting down trees and processing logs. Not too far away from where the glaucous macaw tribe lived, around about a fifteen minute flight from the glaucous macaws' location, a group of loggers were finishing a hard day's work. Like everyone else, the loggers had been sweating and had brought bottles of water to replenish their bodies with the water they had lost through sweating. The loggers were packing away their cutting tools while the drivers of cranes finished the loading of the last of the logs into log carrying trucks. The logging group was particularly glad to be finishing a hard day's work in the blistering heat and were desperate to go home to relax for the rest of the day. As the loggers continued finishing the last of the jobs, a foreman watched whilst smoking a cigarette, satisfied and impressed at his underlings' progress and work.

"Good job, everyone," he called, "You have done very well. Now let's get the final bits of the job finished and then we'll get out of here."

The other loggers called in reply in gladness and set to finishing the last of the little tasks. Then as soon as the last of the logs had been loaded into the trucks and the handheld machinery like chainsaws were packed away, the group prepared for departure. The foreman then prepared to leave as well. After finishing the last of the cigarette, he tossed it aside. He did not take very good care of where to throw it away as the still-lit cigarette end landed onto a patch of desiccated (dried) ferns next to a cluster of bushes and trees. An orange glow emerged from the still-burning cigarette end and began to gently spread to the green bone-dry leaves of the ferns as the foreman walked away.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24- a fiery disaster strikes**

Night had come in over the Amazon rainforest, overshadowing it with its dark sky. However, the sky was not completely black; it was awash with a sea of glitter due to lack of clouds. However, like every other night before it since the heatwave hit, it was very warm, and was causing discomfort and difficulty sleeping in the diurnal animals, including many of the macaws. However, there was one group of macaws that wasn't planning on going to bed yet. Out in the jungle where the borders of the Spix, the red and the blue-and-gold macaws' territories met at a point, a group of macaws, a mixture of Spix, scarlet, green-winged and blue-and-gold, were preparing to go out and stargaze. Among the group were Blu (who had his fanny pack on him), Bia, Venus and Virgil from the Spix macaw tribe, Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and Sheldon and his scarlet macaw mother from the red macaw tribe, and Saturn, Mimas and Titan from the blue-and-gold macaw tribe, alongside some others. Before sundown, Saturn had visited the red and Spix tribes to tell Felipe and Eduardo that Zoie, his tribe matriarch was organising a stargazing group tonight and some of the macaws had taken interest. Blu and Venus had decided to go along with Virgil and Bia while Jewel and Zephyr decided to remain behind with the other chicks, Carla, Tiago and Justin, Charlotte and Matilda for they were too tired to go out due to the heat. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Quincy, Flor, Charon and Blueberry and Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette had also opted against going for they were too tired as well, and they didn't feel like stargazing. Eduardo and Mimi had accompanied Blu and some of the other volunteers to ensure that they were safe. So, as Zoie did a headcount of the macaws present and giving safety instructions to them especially in regards to keeping the kids safe, Eduardo and Mimi were standing with Blu and Venus, a stern look on each of their faces.

"Now you two be safe," said Eduardo firmly, "And listen to Zoie's instructions and orders."

"Yes, and don't let your little 'uns wander off," said Mimi as she examined the dark surroundings, "Because they could easily get lost out there."

"Don't worry, Mimi, we'll do as Zoie says," said Venus, Virgil standing next to her. Blu, however, did not look very certain and was very concerned that something bad might happen, and the thought of Bia getting lost in the dark jungle sent shivers down his spine. But Bia had been insistent that she attend the stargazing group, so Blu decided to go along.

"Good," said Eduardo, "And as soon as you've finished, make sure to stay with your escorts from Zoie's tribe on the way back here."

"We'll not be out for very long," said Venus. Sher then looked up at the night sky and was amazed by the sea of stars forming the Milky Way.

"You know, when I lived as a pet in London, I always wanted to stargaze with a family should I meet someone," she breathed in awe, "Zephyr and I sometimes did back in Rio, especially before we had our brood of six…"

Blu then looked up into the sky and smiled. "I'll tell you a fact, Eduardo, there are some very massive stars out there. My daughter Bia knows the names of quite a number of them."

Then Bia and Ganymede flew in.

"Hey, Dad, Aunt Venus, did you know that the red supergiant star Betelgeuse would consume the entire inner solar system if it were in the sun's place," said Bia.

"Would it?" gasped Blu in shock.

"Yes," said Ganymede.

"It's hard to believe that so many stars would be that size, wouldn't it," said Blu fascinated.

"Well, we know nothing about stars but I'm sure you and your daughter do," said Eduardo with an amused smile, "You ought to get an astronomy book for your daughter some time."

Jupiter then came in and stood by Ganymede. Ruby was back at the red tribe's home, helping with some of the tasks that needed doing. She had opted to stay behind for there was work that needed doing.

"I'm actually considering getting an astronomy book for Ganymede," said Jupiter, a smile down at his only son, "Alongside a book on nature and a book on physics."

He then looked at Bia and said, "And I might get Bia a new book on the animals of the Amazon as well, after hearing what that daughter of Mertle had done to her other book…"

Jupiter sighed and placed a wing on his forehead, remembering the little incident at the red/Spix border when Aguamarina had snatched a Brazil not off of Io. "I'd never known Mertle to be so inconsiderate and negligent of her daughter's behaviour, honestly."

"She's always been a bit of a problem," said Eduardo, "But if she ever does anything serious, I will do something about it but I'm not going to kick her out of the tribe for she hasn't done anything particularly serious like deliberately put a tribe-mate's life in danger or betray us."

"At least she has some sense," muttered Blu with a frown. He was still cross with Mertle's daughter after how she treated Bia. Venus then looked back up at the night sky.

"Well, let's move on from that," she breathed as she admired the beauty of the stars, "If Mertle won't discipline her daughter then that's her problem, isn't it."

Jupiter then looked up at the night sky.

"You know, nights like these really do leave me in utter silence," he crooned, "Ruby and I sometimes had a very romantic night out gazing at the stars…"

"So do I and Jewel at times," said Blu.

"It's true to what the Psalmist wrote in the Bible," said Jupiter in an awed whisper, "The heavens certainly do declare the glory of God."

Venus smiled while Blu just said nothing. Then Saturn's voice sounded.

"Guys, are you ready," said the blue-and-gold macaw, Mimas and Titan standing beside him. Orquidea, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus were back at the blue-and-gold tribe's home.

"We are, yes," said Jupiter. He then glanced back at Eduardo and said, "Look, we'll look after Blu, Venus, Virgil and Bia. Zoie has done a lot of these star tours before so you can be sure that you can trust her."

"Good," said Eduardo, "And make sure that you look after my son-in-law, granddaughter and two tribe members well as well, okay?"

"We will," said Jupiter. Eduardo then shot Blu a firm glare. Jupiter could not believe that Eduardo once had a strong dislike of Blu because of his history as a domestic macaw.

"And Blu, no silly stuff, okay?" he said. Blu nodded timidly as his father-in-law's green eyes bore into him.

"D-d-don't worry, Eduardo, I'll behave," he stammered, intimidated by Eduardo's glare. Mimi then shot her younger brother an annoyed look.

"Eduardo, you're frightening him," she growled slightly, "Stop glaring at him like that."

Eduardo rolled his eyes while Venus could do nothing but admire Mimi's assertiveness. Zephyr and Tornado had once told her that Mimi was the only macaw who was brassy enough to rebuke Eduardo whenever she feels he was being a bit unfair, such as when he was being disapproving towards Blu and Jewel's choice of mate before he learned to accept him. Then Zoie's voice called out, "Right, are we all ready to go?"

Jupiter glanced at Zoie and then back at Eduardo.

"It's time to leave," he said.

"Okay, have a good and safe time," said Eduardo as he opened his wings to take off.

"And make sure you stay safe and keep with the other macaws of the group," said Mimi to Blu and Bia.

"Don't worry, Mimi, we will," said Blu as the two siblings took off and flew away into the darkness.

"See you tomorrow, Grandpa and Aunt Mimi," called Bia but Eduardo and Mimi's forms were soon out of sight, swallowed up by the dark jungle. Blu and Bia then prepared to follow Zoie as she called for everyone's attention.

"Here we go," said Jupiter and with that he, Ganymede, Blu, Bia, Virgil and Venus all turned and faced Zoie with the others in the little group as Zoie then began to repeat the safety instructions.

 **Meanwhile**

In the dark city of Rio, the usual activities were occurring. A massive glow from the artificial lights enveloped the city and in it, people on night shifts or going to pubs and clubs were walking or driving back and forth on the roads and streets. It appeared that the people weren't as bothered by the heat at night than during the day, but it was still very warm as the heated air still lingered over the city. In Susan and Lucy's house, Lucy, Susan and their greyhound and cat families were relaxing. It had been another uneasy day with the heat. The fans were set up as usual and the house pets were chilling out, and the TV was on. While Susan and Lucy prepared supper, James, one of Dash and Ginger's puppies, was talking with his parents.

"You know, Mom and Dad," he said, "When I grow up, I would like to run a music club exclusively for cats and dogs, like how Mr's Nico and Pedro do for birds."

"Well, you'll have to have a word with Nico and Pedro about that, son," said Dash with a smile, "And besides that, you're currently too young to run a club of your own."

James sighed and placed his head on the floor, slightly disappointed. He had taken like in music when he had spent some time with Carla, one of Blu and Jewel's daughters, and Io, the oldest daughter of Jupiter and Ruby, both of who liked music. Sighing, James stared into space. Not too far away from James, his brother Danny was playing chess with Esperanza while Avellana read a book on the birds of South America. When Avellana came to a page containing information about the glaucous macaw, she said, "Hey Mom, Dad, it says here that the glaucous macaw is believed to be extinct in the wild. That's not true isn't it since Mr Pluto and his family are still living."

"It means that the glaucous macaw is extinct in the wild with no sightings of them reported, daughter," explained Ginger, "apart from the one we saw on TV before our feathered friends left for their trip into the Amazon."

Veggie then came by with a vegetarian cat treat stick.

"You know, come to think of it," said the tabby cat, as he came and sat by Dash, "I'm surprised those expedition groups haven't found more evidence of those wild glaucous macaws yet. I hope Tulio sends them back out into the rainforest once this heatwave lifts."

"He will but it's just too hot at the moment," said Dash. Suddenly, Esperanza's voice sounded.

"Oh, I give up," she muttered after Danny had used a knight piece to take out her bishop piece, one of the last pieces besides the king piece. "You're too good at this, Danny."

"Oh, you want to stop, sis?" said Danny with an amused smile. Dash, Ginger and Veggie tittered as Esperanza nodded.

"He's very good at that game, isn't he?" said Veggie, "I don't know how he does it."

"Only once or twice has he lost the game," said Ginger, "Danny's honestly a master at it despite his age."

Danny, at this, looked up at his parents before setting to clearing the chessboard of the pieces to reset for the next game. Just then Catina who was sat closer to the TV called, "Guys, you need to watch this. Also get Susan and Lucy's attention."

At this, Dash, Ginger, Veggie, James, Avellana, Danny and Esperanza looked up and saw a dreaded look on Catina's face when she pointed a paw to the TV. The news was on.

"What's going on?" asked Veggie, "Something big?"

Catina nodded to the TV in reply. Nearby, Broccoli, Collette, Thomas and Daisy, Veggie and Catina's kittens, and Eduarda, the oldest puppy of Dash and Ginger, who had been relaxing by the sofa, had woken up upon hearing Catina's call. Now, all seven greyhounds and six cats were gathered around the TV. Behind them, Susan saw the news as she came and sat down on the sofa with some toast.

"Lucy," she called in shock. At this, her sister abandoned her toast preparation and came along. Then the group began to watch the news as a reporter in the studio, the same woman who delivered the news on Tulio and Linda's discovery of the Spix macaw flock quite some time ago, was delivering a report, a look of worry on her face.

"A fire has started not too far away from the Sanctuary de Amazon's outskirts," she said, "It had not been long since the areas on which the flocks of the recently discovered Lear's macaws and great green and military macaws have been added to the nature reserve. Here's Fred with the report live from above the Amazon in a helicopter…"

As the TV screen turned to live, the cats, dogs and their two owners all gasped in horror when they saw an orange amorphous thing dancing in the dark. Thick billows of smoke belched from the orange things, and Fred the news reporter then began to give his report.

"Look at that," murmured Veggie in shock and horror.

"It's right next to the Sanctuary de Amazon," added Catina.

"Where the flocks of Lear's and green macaws had been discovered," added Dash, "This is bad."

Then Ginger shook with dread when the thought about the glaucous macaws possibly living out there came to mind. "If there any glaucous macaws living there, the chances of them surviving that fire are pretty slim," she murmured. Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy, and Esperanza, Eduarda, Danny, James and Avellena said nothing as their horror-saturated eyes were glued to the screen.

 **Meanwhile**

Back in the rainforest, the glaucous macaw tribe, unaware of the frightening disaster about to unfold, were preparing to turn in for the night. Rudi had sent out night patrollers to keep an eye on the surroundings while the tribe slept and was preparing for bed. His sons Alberto and Lorenzo, who were still too young to fly, were asleep in his and Valeria's hollow. It had been a difficult time for the glaucous macaws, and Rudi was beginning to worry about the tribe's possible fate in the coming days, if the drought did not end. With only enough food to feed the entire flock for only two days on estimate, and with barely any more fruit fit to eat being found by the foragers, Rudi was dreading starvation as the fate of the tribe. It appeared that Valeria did know better regarding this decision to stay out here until the glaucous macaws had finally found a place they could call home after all. However, stubbornness based on his untrusting of the decision to sought help from nearby bird tribes and clans still prevented Rudi from reconsidering his decision, not to mention his hatred of humans. However, something about to happen will have enough force to break through this wall of stubbornness Rudi had built. As Rudi looked over his two sons as they slept in their nest, Valeria arrived and perched onto the rim of the hollow.

"Well, another day over, dear," she muttered, distaste tainting her voice. Rudi turned to her.

"I can tell you don't agree with my decision to continue to stay out here until we have found a home, do you?" he muttered, clearly sensing the distaste in Valeria's voice. Valeria shot her mate an angry glare.

"You still don't trust my consideration that we should seek help from Eduardo's tribe, or any of their neighbours, don't you!?" she snarled.

"Why should we?" retorted Rudi quietly, taking into account their sleeping chicks who stirred. Rudi then looked back at his mate, an angry and irritated look swarming his face like a cloud of provoked bees.

"I told you about that idea already," he said, "It's out of the question. Those tribes and clans have allowed humans to discover them!"

"It's not about whether they have allowed those pesky two-legged menaces to discover them or not," snapped Valeria, "It's about our tribe and their possible fate. We've been living out here in this barren wilderness for years since those flying furballs had driven us out of our home, scavenging for whatever fruit we could find while those flying membrane-winged pests indulge themselves on the fruit groves and the homes we used to have. We lost quite a few members of our tribe, Rudi, including your cousin Lapis Lazuli whom we thought also died in the slaughter at those clutches of the bats."

Valerian then allowed thoughts of Lapis Lazuli to enter her head. "Mind you, at least she's seeking help from Eddie or whatever-his-name-is' tribe. I should have gone along with her decision when they confronted us about where we're living…"

"Forget that cousin of mine" snapped Rudi, his back turned to Valeria as he walked further into the hollow, "She's chosen to associate with humans and choose a pet as a mate, so let her suffer the consequences of those decisions."

He then tidied up a nest, the one Rudi and Valeria slept in. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a tough day. It might be warm but we need rest."

He then looked at Valeria, hoping that she would join him but Valeria, a disgusted look on her face, refused to budge.

"I'm not sleeping by your side until you deal with that stubborn and uncaring attitude of yours," she growled in a low voice, "If your father was still alive and still lead this tribe, he'd probably consider our decision to live out here I the wilderness after seeing the fruitless efforts of our patrollers in finding a new territory we could call home and the increasing difficulties we are facing."

And with that, Valeria turned, opened her wings and took off to sleep outside, leaving Rudi to stand there by their nest, puzzled and appalled. Outside, the other glaucous macaws were struggling to settle down in their nests in the branches. Chicks were crying with parents struggling to calm them down, and the other adult glaucous macaws looked very concerned. Valeria perched on a tree branch outside her and Rudi's makeshift hollow, gazing at the sorry looks on the macaws with a sympathetic look. Sighing, she prepared to go to sleep on the branch. However, this was cut short by the sounds of groaning from the macaws. At this, Valeria looked up and watched as the macaws complained of something unpleasant.

"Now what's up!?" she growled in irritation. Then whatever was bothering the macaws drifted over to her as well. When Valeria breathed through her nose, she winced in revulsion. It smelt acrid, like something being burned.

"What is this!?" cried Valeria as she held her nose to block out the disgusting smell. It was then that the sounds of frantic flapping wings, accompanied by panicked cries, was heard. At this, Valeria looked up and when she saw a group of macaws, the patrol group Rudi had sent out earlier, flap in and cry out to the other macaws, dread hit her like a stone.

"FIRE!" cried one of the patrollers, "FIRE! GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE!"

This sent the entire glaucous tribe flying into chaos as turquoise, blue and grey comets erupted from the trees. Parents grabbed their chicks and made a break for it, while the other glaucous macaws abandoned their makeshift homes. Then Valeria saw it over the treeline. A thick cloud billowed from behind the line of trees and screening the Milky Way from view. Smoke, thick, black smoke. Then seconds later, orange slivers began to show themselves behind the treeline, accompanied by the sound of trees burning. Then suddenly, a voice snapped Valeria out of her thoughts and she saw Rudi fly in and yell at one of the patrollers before seeing the dancing orange things, flames, continue to flicker over the treeline and increase in size.

"Where's your mate and chicks!?" asked the patroller. At this, Valeria took off and flew over to the pair of glaucous macaws.

"Here," she said, feathers on end in alarm and eyes flooded with terror.

"Where are your chicks Alberto and Lorenzo!?" shouted the patroller. At this, Valeria whipped round and rocketed towards her and Rudi's hollow.

"I'll grab Lorenzo and Alberto!" she called to Rudi, "You get your tribe outa here!"

Rudi, without hesitation, nodded and turned to the patroller. "You get your family out of here while I help the other macaws, okay!?"

The patroller nodded and shot off like a comet to get his family while Rudi flew off to help the tribe. Soon, pandemonium was in the air as turquoise and blue birds with grey heads exploded from the trees and rocketed into the air, screaming and crying in terror as the fire approached the spot right where they were staying. The orange flames leapt quickly from one tree or set of trees to the next, and those trees and plants quickly caught the flames. Because everything was so dry from the drought, the plants were able to kindle very easily. Ahead of the spreading flames, animals were scurrying through the trees, screeching and crying in terror. Monkeys, birds and some other tree-living animals were scurrying though the trees or flying through the air. Then a while later, the trees nearest to where the glaucous macaws lived caught fire. Rudi was darting back and forth like a speedy dragonfly, barking orders to evacuate and make haste at every macaw he came across when he heard screams of fright. At this, he turned and when he saw it, terror exploded within him like an explosion. Some of the glaucous macaws, a few of them with mates and chicks had become trapped in the flames as the tree they were in caught fire. One of them was Beatrice and she was hugging her chick Cristal. The glaucous macaws were screeching for help as the flames enveloped the tree more. Without a second's hesitation, Rudi shot over to the trapped glaucous macaws and began to help them out. He managed to lift a branch that was burning up to enable the first family of glaucous macaws, a family with four chicks, escape before releasing the branch in time as the flames crept to the spot where Rudi held it. Then Rudi turned his attention to the next lot and helped them escape, despite the immense heat from the fire and the choking smoke. As he continued doing this, the other glaucous macaws began to escape in the direction of unlit trees, and the Sanctuary de Amazon. As Rudi continued helping the trapped glaucous macaws escape, a huge crack was heard. At this, the eyes of the macaws nearest to the sound's source were turned in its direction. Then another large crack was heard. Rudi, after helping Beatrice and Cristal escape, flew in and saw that the sound was coming from a burning tree, and that tree was kinked. At this, Rudi immediately knew what was going to happen.

"GO, FLEE! THAT TREE'S GONNA FALL!" he screeched at the top of his voice. The macaws did so as the crack morphed into a creaking, and then from a creaking into a loud groan. Rudi and the other macaws with him cried in terror and fled. Then seconds later, the groaning tree leaned further and further until it finally toppled over towards the fleeing group of glaucous macaws.

"LOOK OUT!" cried Rudi and with that, the group dived to the left a split second before the burning tree careened down past where they were and fell onto the forest floor with a mighty crash. Rudi and some of the others with him gasped in horror as they watched the mighty tree crash. Some of the glaucous macaws had not been so lucky and had been caught by the falling tree and Rudi could hear a female macaw, a mother of three chicks, call for her mate, before being forced to flee the flames. At this, Rudi began to call to the glaucous macaws to flee before escaping himself as the trees in which the glaucous macaws stayed in then caught fire and began to burn.

At this moment, on the outermost parts of the Lear's macaws' territory, Valentino was with a patrol group examining the Lear's macaws' border with the outside space.

"Doesn't look like the flying foxes have been frolicking around close to the outside of our territories again since the incident involving the Jandayan parakeet in the blue-and-gold tribe's territory, Valentino," said one of the patrollers, the Lear's Pit of Doom scoremarker named Monique as she scanned the darkened outside area of the rainforest.

"We certainly also have no reports of injured non-tribe residents at the clutches of those bats anywhere on our territory either, Valentino," said a middle-aged male Lear's macaw named Ruben. The other three patrollers squawked in agreement.

"Good," said Valentino, pleased with the report, "At least those flying furballs are keeping out of our territory and sticking to the truce. I just hope the blue-and-gold tribe isn't facing any trouble with those flying foxes after Zoie told us of that battered Jandayan parrot. Anyway, let's get back to the ravine. It's getting late."

The other five macaws nodded and with that, they began to make their way back to the Lear's tribe's ravine. However, before they could fly further back into their tribe's territory, a strange smell entered Monique's nostrils. At this, she stopped into a hover and grunted in revulsion.

"What is it, Monique?" asked Ruben. The other four macaws including Valentino looked at her.

"What… is… that… smell," gagged Monique as she held her nose with a talon, "That… acrid… sme-e-e-ell...?"

The other five macaws, at this, began to sniff the air. Then Ruben gagged.

"Smells like burning wood," he gasped. The other three macaws also complained. Valentino, at this, began to look around.

"I don't see anything burning," he said. However, he thought he saw something orange and glowing out the corner of his eye. At this, Valentino whipped his head in the direction so fast it looked as though he had been stung by a bee. When he saw whatever was orange, he drew in a horrified gasp. The other five macaws flew in.

"What is it, Valentino?" asked Monique but when her eyes, and the eyes of the other four, landed on the orange thing, they cried in horror. What the six macaws saw in the distance was a sea of glowing amorphous orange dancing shapes engulfing the trees. From the tops of the things billows of black stuff was belching into the clean jungle air. It was a starry night and the black stuff was easily obscuring the star-washed sky from view. From the orange sea an unmistakable crackling sound, a sound the six macaws recognised, emanated into the air. Terror tore through Valentino as he opened his beak in sheer fright when he realised that the glowing orange smoke-belching monsters were heading this way. Then Ruben's voice snapped him out of his horrified trance.

"WE'D BETTER WARN THE REST OF THE LEAR'S TRIBE AND TELL THEM TO EVACUATE TO THE EVACUATION CAVE," he shouted, "THAT FIRE'S HEADING THIS WAY!"

As soon as Valentino heard these words, intense panic took hold. Shooting the five macaws a horrified glare, he barked orders at them.

"Let's get back to the ravine on the double and do just that," he bellowed, "And while there, I'll quickly arrange for some patrol groups to fly out into the territories of our neighbours to warn them of the imminent disaster! NOW LET'S MOOOVE!"

Without a second's hesitation, Monique, Ruben and the other three patrollers turned tail and rocketed off back to the Lear's tribe's ravine, Valentino not far behind. As he rocketed through the jungle after the other five, Valentino began to think of Sapphire and her family. "Oh, Sapphire, I hope you get to safety with your family when you see that fire."

At this moment in time, in the green macaws' home patch, the green macaws had turned in for the night but for an uneasy sleep due to the heat lingering from the hot day. Uranus was looking at the night sky and was in awe of the show of the Milky Way and the other stars. In his family's tree, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon were trying to sleep, as was Esmeralda but Uranus had been having trouble and had decided to come out to stargaze. Something else was on his mind besides the heat from the day. As he gazed into the night sky, Esmeralda emerged from the hollow and walked over to him.

"Hey, Uranus," she said, concerned, "What are you still doing out here? I thought you were supposed to be settling down by my side for the night."

Uranus looked at her with a worried look.

"It's too hot," he said.

"But you've been awfully busy today helping with the stocking of the food in the coming days," said Esmeralda, "You need rest. Come on, back to bed."

Uranus sighed and began to do as Esmeralda said. As he walked with his mate towards the hollow along the branch, Esmeralda saw the worry-swamped look on Uranus's face.

"Something troubling you?" she asked. At first Uranus did not answer, but when he saw the insisting look on Esmeralda's face, he began to reply.

"I'm worried about Mercury and his family," he said, "Especially Mercury. He's been through quite a nasty ordeal in the Pit of Doom a while ago, and I've been concerned for him and his family ever since."

Esmeralda sighed in agreement. "It is difficult, adapting into the wild, especially if you've been a pet for most of your life. I think he's just a bit naïve due to lack of experience. I hope Sapphire is helping him..."

"I'm sure she is," said Uranus, "After all it was his family's dream to venture out here to look for others like themselves when Mercury was a chick. I'm sure his mother and father and siblings wouldn't want to have seen him go through something like this."

Then a thought about the Lear's macaw tribe came to his head when he thought about the camu-camu grove.

"But as far as Mercury's problems are concerned," said Uranus, "I'm also concerned about the Lear's tribe. It seems that they have shared the camu-camu grove with your tribe for years based on what you and some of the other tribe members including Lewin have told me. Is there anything we can do…?"

"I'm afraid not," said Esmeralda sadly, "That's up to Alonso. He is after all, our tribe leader and he makes all the decisions regarding territory, food supplies and plans."

Uranus sighed before moving on to something else.

"You know, I'm on about moving to the Spix macaw tribe's ravine for a bit until the green tribe's conflict with the Lear's macaws subsides," he said, "And besides that, Alonso still seems disapproving toward us for A: being friends with the Lear's macaws, especially Sapphire, and B: me being a pet."

Esmeralda, at this, seemed to agree. "You know, I've been thinking about that too."

She then looked up at the sky and let loose a yawn. "But we'll consider that in the morning. Let's go to bed and get some rest. It's been a long and hot day."

And with that, she walked back to the hollow with Uranus following. Uranus then stole one final look at the dark landscape of the green tribe's home patch of trees.

"This tribe has just got to make peace with the Lear's macaws soon," he moaned as Esmeralda stepped into the hollow. Uranus was about to follow when suddenly, he heard the sounds of frantic flapping of several pairs of wings. At this, he stopped and turned with a confused frown on his face.

"What in the world?" he murmured in a low voice as he heard the flapping sounds grow louder. It was then that Uranus caught sighted some feathered forms flapping madly.

"Uranus, come on," growled Esmeralda slightly and irritably, her head poking out from the hollow's entrance, "Let's get some sleep."

"Something's not quite right," said Uranus. At this, Esmeralda stepped out of the hollow to see what Uranus saw when suddenly, the couple was violently startled by an explosion of words from the madly flapping birds which were macaws and a patrol group that had been set out by Alonso to carry out a night watch.

"FIRE!" cried one of the patrol macaws, "THERE'S FIRE HEADING THIS WAY! GRAB YOUR CHICKS AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO OUR EVACUATION CAVE RIGHT NOW!"

At this, the green tribe's home patch air was filled with groans as heads peered out from the trees. From his tree, Alonso wearily woke up and made his way to the entrance. Verde, who was still in the nest incubating her and Alonso's clutch of two eggs, stirred. As Alonso stepped out of his hollow, he saw the panicked patrol group yell at the other green macaws to evacuate. Just then, one of the patrollers flew in and clumsily landed onto the branch before Alonso's hollow, almost falling off the branch.

"Whoa, careful, Lewin," muttered Alonso as the macaw named Lewin managed to regain his balance. Then Lewin took a moment to catch his breath for he was breathing heavily from flying so fast. Alonso then began to ask him.

"Right, tell me what's going on?" asked Alonso irritated. Verde looked up from the nest. Lewin, with a terror swamped face, looked at him.

"Fire," he spat, "There's fire heading this way! We saw it on the outskirts of the green macaws' territory. We need to evacuate the entire tribe to the cave before it gets here!"

When the word fire reached Alonso's ears, terror exploded within the tribe patriarch like a crack of lightning. Verde also popped her head up in horror when she heard Lewin mention fire.

"Help me evacuate the tribe ON THE DOUBLE!" yelled Alonso at the top of his voice. Lewin nodded rapidly and rocketed off to do just that. Turning to Verde, Alonso commanded, "Verde, get those eggs to the cave. Stay there until I enter the cave once our entire tribe is evacuated."

Verde nodded and without a second's hesitation, carefully wrapped her talons around the two white orbs and began to make her way out of the hollow while Alonso shot off into the dark air to help evacuate the tribe. Soon, the night air was filled with panicking green, blue, red and yellow birds as great green and military macaws began to leak from the trees and converge in the direction of the evacuation cave, a large cave outside the green tribe's home patch. The cave was covered with moss and had a small stream flowing over it. It was smaller than the Spix tribe's waterfall cave but it was large enough to house the entire green macaw tribe. Food had already been stocked into this cave but now it was about to be used as what it was meant to be used for: refuge from a forest fire. As the green tribe, with the elderly members being escorted and un-hatched eggs and chicks too young to fly being carried, converged towards the cave, Uranus and Esmeralda were flying alongside the other green macaw families with Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon by their sides. Uranus had gone into his and Esmeralda's hollow to wake up their five chicks and now they were on their way to the cave. Esmeralda was extremely frightened and was almost in a panicked state. She had been torn from the green macaw tribe by one when she was young, and had to fly through the inferno to escape. Now she was to face the nightmare head on again. Uranus and the five chicks, who had never at all experienced a forest fire, were also very frightened. Uranus remembered watching a forest fire on a documentary back in London and knew what destruction they can cause. He also remembered how Esmeralda, Jewel and some of the other unfortunate macaws who had been torn from their tribes and clans by the fire years ago had to face such a nightmare and hoped never to face or experience it himself.

As Uranus and his family headed towards the cave with the other green macaws, Alonso and some of the other macaws were darting back and forth between trees and barking orders to the macaws to evacuate while at the same time helping macaw families with chicks too young to fly to leave their hollows. Then within seconds the cave began to fill with green macaws with blue and yellow wings, red foreheads, and blue, yellow and red tails. Chicks and eggs were carried to moss nests readily constructed and placed in them while adolescent, adult and elderly macaws perched onto the rock or on some of the soft moss. Uranus, Esmeralda and their five chicks made a beeline for one of the moss nests and as soon as they landed near it, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon jumped in while Esmeralda settled in it next to them, one wing over her frightened chicks. Uranus settled beside her and began to hug her as she went through a panic attack to help her calm down and prepare to face watching their home being engulfed in flames. On the outskirts of the sanctuary, the fire continued raging on. Orange flames leapt from one set of trees and plants to the next in a number of seconds. Because of how much the plants had dried out during the drought, they kindled easily. Ahead of the flames, panicked animals, screeching and squawking in terror, flew through or leaped through the trees. Monkeys, birds of every type and reptiles quickly scurried through the trees in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the flames. Among the fleeing animals were macaws with turquoise and blue plumages and grey heads. The glaucous macaws continued to flee the fire. Macaws carried eggs and chicks in their talons and the glaucous macaw tribe had scattered but all heading in the same direction as the sanctuary. Then within moments, the macaws had crossed the borders and into the territories of the green and Lear's tribes' territories, the fire not too far behind them.

 **Meanwhile**

Eduardo and Mimi were flying through the dark trees in the direction of the Spix macaws' ravine, talking.

"You know something, Mimi, I think Hugh has done quite well to adapt to the wild, you know," said Eduardo, still concerned for his son-in-law.

"His name's Blu," said Mimi correcting him, an amused smile on her beak.

"Of course, Blu," said Eduardo. When Blu first met him, Eduardo often got his name wrong, calling him other names like Drew, Sue and Lou. Even now, he still got his name wrong. Furthermore, Eduardo still sometimes got Venus's name wrong though he is approaching to getting her name right… slowly.

"Though he still has some significant reliance on human things to shed first," said Eduardo. "As for Vera…"

"Her name's Venus," said Mimi.

"Sorry, Venus, she's done very well," said Eduardo, impressed at how Venus had adapted to the wild, "Despite living as a pet for much of her life."

Then Eduardo moved on to his concerns about Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor.

"But I've been very concerned for Pluto and his family," said the Spix tribe patriarch, "They hadn't participated in anything all day. I thought that joining the stargazing group would help to take their minds of the glaucous macaw tribe but they had turned it down."

"Disappointment and grief over the tribe's arrogance and stubbornness, I believe," said Mimi. Eduardo nodded, knowing that all too well as he remembered Rudi's attitude towards him.

"As much as I am surprised to see that the glaucous macaws have somehow managed to survive the siege from the flying foxes," said Eduardo, "I am appalled at their leader's attitude despite his tribe living in those awful and vulnerable conditions. I could tell from a distance without flying around where they are staying."

"Based on Lapis's description," said Mimi, "I could not believe that those rare birds are living in such a vulnerable spot. I mean if loggers came to where they are staying; it could destroy the entire tribe."

Mimi then remembered the Oscuro-Azul hyacinth Clan, and how they were destroyed by loggers.

"That brings to mind the decimation of the Oscuro-Azuls," she murmured, shuddering at what she heard of their remains, "When Violeta's parents and a patrol group of Bluewing hyacinth and blue-throated macaws had flown into that clan's territory to look for survivors, all they found were fallen trees and hyacinth macaw corpses. It was though the clan had been attacked by those flying foxes and driven out but with the destruction of trees included."

"I think that's how we would have ended up had we not shown ourselves to those well-meaning humans because we were too untrusting of them after all the experiences we've had with them in the past," said Eduardo, "That's what Rudi needs to get over. He needs to swallow his stubbornness and start considering his tribe's vulnerability."

Mimi nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the two siblings saw a group of shadowy figures in the distance. At this, Eduardo stopped into a horror, suspicion entering his green eyes and his feathers rising.

"What is it, Eduardo?" asked Mimi when her blue eyes spotted the approaching shadowy figures. At this, she drew in a short gasp. The shadowy figures continued approaching Eduardo and Mimi, their size getting bigger and bigger the closer they got. As they were around 30 feet away, Eduardo barked, "Stop, who goes there!?"

At this, the shadowy figures, which turned out to be macaws, stopped into a hover.

"Whoa, it's okay, it's only us," said one of them.

"We're from Valentino's tribe," said another. At this, Eduardo lowered his feathers and flew towards them, Mimi close behind. Soon enough, the two siblings were met by a group of three dark blue birds with teal-tinged facial feathers and orangey-yellow eye rings and beak lappets.

"What are you three doing in our territory at this time of night?" asked Eduardo with a frown, "You should be with your tribe."

Then the three macaws, which were Lear's macaws, began to shudder and talk so fast and at the same time that all Eduardo and Mimi received was a cacophony of tangled words that made no sense. Then Mimi came forward and slapped each macaw across the face. The three

"Calm down," she barked and the trio of Lear's macaws stopped immediately from the shock from the slap. Now that they were silent, Mimi asked, "Right, one at a time pleased. Why are you here?"

Then one of the macaws, a male, blurted out.

"Fire," he spat, "There's fire heading this way."

"Valentino, our leader and some of our patrollers saw it and it's approaching the sanctuary based on its direction," said the second macaw, a female.

"And he has sent us to warn the other macaw tribes and clans to evacuate," said the third macaw, a male. When the mentioning of fire reached Eduardo and Mimi's ears and were absorbed by their brains, the colour in the skin under their facial feathers drained until they were white under their feathers. Then Eduardo began to tremble violently. Fire was what tore Jewel and some of the other members, among them Tornado, Gael, Zephyr and Brisa, from his tribe, and had some others killed. That same fire had also ripped Ruby and Chiquitita from the red tribe, Sapphire from the Lear's tribe, Esmeralda from the green tribe, Cobalto from the blue-throated macaw clan and Ultramarine from the Navyfeather hyacinth Clan. Then Mimi barked, "We'll deliver the warning to our tribe right away!"

And with that, the plump macaw rocketed off.

"Right, thanks for the warning, you three," said Eduardo, "You go and warn the other tribes and clans including the green macaws and take cover with your own!"

The three Lear's macaws nodded and shot off into the darkness while Eduardo followed Mimi in the direction of the Spix macaws' ravine, faster than they had flown before due to being driven by panic. However, in his panic and haste, he forgot about the stargazing group.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25- the evacuation continues, panic for the stargazing group**

In the blue-and-gold tribe's home patch, most of the blue-and-gold macaws had gone to bed for an uneasy night for the heat still lingered in the air. Soleado was outside his family's hollow, looking at the night sky. He could not believe how hot it had been in the past few days and it had been affecting the activity of his tribe and the other animals. However, the incident involving the Jandayan parakeet at the clutches of those three flying foxes just outside the blue-and-gold tribe's boundary had inflicted a dent on the tribe's peace, especially Soleado and Zoie. The parakeet had died from his injuries and Soleado had sent patrol groups to find the parakeet's family and also to check the border for any more suspicious bat activities. To his gladness, there had been none for the rest of the day but after what happened to the parakeet still troubled Soleado. The family of the parakeet, the now-widowed female Jandayan parrot and three chicks who lived on Soleado's tribe's territory as non-tribe residents, had been escorted by a patrol group from their home to Fedor, Falkor and Ámbar in the Navyfeathers' territory to be looked after. As the events of today went through Soleado's mind, a voice of an adolescent macaw penetrated through his daydreaming, making him jump.

"Dad, are you alright?" asked the macaw, his head peering out of the hollow. Soleado looked at him, a troubled look marking his face.

"You've had that concerned look since the parakeet incident," said the young macaw, "Is everything alright?"

He then glanced back into the hollow to check on a clutch of three eggs in the hollow. Soleado and Zoie had three eggs and they were due to hatch soon and it was their second brood. They already had one son, this macaw named Tobias, who was now an adolescent. He was helping his parents to incubate his soon-to-be baby siblings. Soleado sighed and walked over to his soon-to-be eldest son.

"I've been concerned about those bats and what happened to that parakeet, son," he said in a small voice, "I hope those flying furballs aren't planning on launching attacks on our territory's none-tribe resident birds, or the non-tribe and clan birds on the territories of the other macaw tribes and clans. If they are, those bats are going to be in serious trouble."

Tobias looked back at him and said, "I'm pretty sure this is just a one-off. The patrollers have reported no other flying fox activity at our border and the unowned zone throughout today since that incident, haven't they?"

Soleado sighed. Although that was true and there had been no flying fox activity other than the attack on the Jandayan parakeet, his troubled feelings did not subside. Not too far away, Orquidea was standing outside her and Saturn's hollow as well, having tucked the other chicks, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus to bed. She was concerned about Saturn, Mimas and Titan out with the stargazing group and had the option to join but was too tired. Orquidea had planned to take her large family out stargazing some time but it had just been too hot, and the nights didn't seem to feel any cooler. As Orquidea gazed into the black canvas awash with a massive sea of glitter, she was amazed. She had always loved nights like this, night skies without the glare of the moon or the screening of clouds in the way, and sometimes had romantic nights out with Saturn gazing at the night sky before the two started their family back in Rio. Like some of the other blue-and-gold macaws, Orquidea had been troubled by the incident with the Jandayan parakeet at the clutches of the three flying foxes. Any hearings of those bats and their colony always terrified Orquidea, even though she had not met any of them face to face. However, as a youngster after she was torn from the blue-and-gold macaw tribe during the fire all those years ago, she had seen a group of them brutally slaughter a family of orange-winged amazons and had been terrified by their size. Those flying foxes, fully grown, were about half-way between the heights of a blue-and-gold or Spix macaw and a hyacinth macaw with massive wingspans reaching as long as one-and-a-half metres, larger than the average wingspan of a blue-and-gold. As Orquidea thought about the flying foxes, one macaw who had faced those monstrous winged beasts also came to mind: Lapis Lazuli. She could not imagine what that poor glaucous macaw had been through during her escape from those bats during their siege on the glaucous macaws. 'It must have been a living nightmare for her,' she thought, 'facing such monstrous bats more than twice her size…'

As Orquidea thought about these things, a male voice sounded nearby.

"Orquidea, are you alright?" it said. Orquidea turned and saw one of her childhood friends and the blue-and-gold Pit of Doom's team captain, Ignacio, approach her and perch beside her, his face creased with concern.

"You look a bit troubled," said Ignacio. Orquidea, at this, shook her head.

"Oh, I'm fine, Ignacio, thanks," she said, "Just troubled by what happened today, especially with that parakeet."

Ignacio sighed and said, "I know. It's been quite a shock."

Orquidea nodded in agreement.

"So how are things now between you and your mate Sandra?" she asked.

"Oh, we've made up," said Ignacio, "Yeah; we've had a bit of a falling out today because I was seriously tired from the heat but we've apologised to each other and to our daughter Preciosa. It's been so hot today and the past few days."

And with that, Ignacio fanned his face with a wing while Orquidea sighed. Suddenly, she saw some macaw shapes enter the blue-and-gold macaws' home patch. At first, she thought they were from her own tribe but when she saw that they were of a different set of colours (green with blue and red markings) based on the flashes of colour under the starlight, she realised that they were from Alonso's tribe.

"Some of Alonso's tribe members, what are they doing here?" asked Orquidea curiously. Ignacio looked and saw that the green macaws, six of them, were in a panicked and frightened state based on how they flew.

"They look extremely frightened," he said in shock, "I wonder why."

Orquidea observed the macaws closely as they made a beeline for Soleado and his family's tree and saw that Ignacio was right. The six green macaws were flapping like mad and looked as though they had seen a frightening monster. An angry suspicion entered Orquidea's head.

"Don't tell me those macaws have seen any suspicious flying fox activity, have they?" she growled to Ignacio, who replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Then the two macaws watched the six green macaws talk with Soleado. Their voices can be heard but the words were blurred together, so Ignacio and Orquidea could not understand what they were saying. Behind the two macaws, five small heads peered out of the hollow. Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus had come to watch their mother and her friend. They could not go to sleep due to the heat and had wanted their mother but when they saw that the two adults were focussing on something, they turned and followed their direction of their gaze. It was then that Soleado's voice exploded with, "WHAT!?"

Ignacio and Orquidea almost jumped off the branch when they heard that word fly out of Soleado's beak. At first, the two thought that Orquidea's suspicions were true but what came next proved that the reason why the green macaws came was something else entirely.

"Thanks for the warning, you six. We'll evacuate our tribe to our cavern right away. You make your way back to Alonso's tribe before the fire hits. Now MOVE IT!" screeched Soleado's voice. The six green macaws obeyed and left while Soleado turned and called Zoie. Dread hit Orquidea and Ignacio and they immediately took action.

"Orquidea, you get your chicks to our cavern while I get Sandra and Preciosa!" yelled Ignacio as he lofted into flight. Orquidea was about to do so when suddenly, she remembered that three of her family members were out stargazing. Her mate, oldest daughter and one of her sons were out there.

"Ignacio!" screeched Orquidea, making Ignacio stop into a hover. Orquidea then rushed towards the hollow but when she saw Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus already awake, she ushered them out straight away.

"Take these five with you," Orquidea yelled, sending her five chicks into flight after Ignacio, "I've got to find Saturn, Mimas, Titan and the others with them and warn the RIGHT AWAY!"

At this, Ignacio rushed back and wrapped his talons around the five chicks.

"Mommy," cried Enceladus.

"You go with Ignacio and stay with him and his family until I get back," ordered Orquidea, "Your father, brother and sister are still with the stargazing group. I've gotta find them right now before the fire gets here!"

Then without hesitation, the panicked blue-and-gold macaw flew off.

"Be careful, Orquidea," yelled Ignacio while Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus in his talons shouted for their mother.

"Hold on tight," commanded Ignacio to the five chicks and with that, he shot off in the direction of his tree where Sandra and Preciosa were, taking the five chicks with them. Within moments, the home patch air was filled with blue and yellow comets as blue-and-gold macaws began to evacuate for the cavern, just like how the green macaws did earlier. Chicks, eggs and macaws with wing injuries were carried toward the cavern while Soleado was flying around, barking orders for all macaws to evacuate. He had sent a few patrollers to search for Zoie and the stargazing group to warn them, and those macaws had flown away to look for them. Tobias, meanwhile, had taken his parents' unhatched eggs (containing his soon-to-be siblings) toward the cavern in a special basket woven out of tough sticks. Soleado had commanded him to take the eggs while he evacuated the tribe and he obeyed right away. The blue-and-gold macaw tribe's evacuation spot was a large mouth in the ground outside the macaws' home patch that led to a large underground labyrinth that served as a fire evacuation point. It was in a clearing with no plants but a few grass and ferns so it was safe from the spread of fire. A large protrusion of rock hung over part of the mouth, forming a sort of shallow overhang. Blue and yellow birds had begun to converge towards the mouth and disappear through it. Some macaws had also raided the food stocks placed into some trees for the drought to take with them to the cavern for they knew that when the fire burns these, the tribe would be left without food. Thus the evacuation of the blue-and-gold tribe was underway.

In the Spix macaws' ravine, the Spix macaw tribe was also turning in for the night, but they too were about to hear the news of the impending disaster. In one tree, Zephyr was standing at the entrance to the tree. He had already tucked the other three chicks Charlotte, Matilda and Justin into bed and had seen Venus and Virgil off when they left with some of the other Spix macaws with Eduardo and Mimi to go stargazing. However Zephyr had decided against going because he was too tired and wanted to get an early night. Now that tiredness has disappeared due to the night being very warm. Zephyr stood there leaning against one side if the hollow gazing out into the dark air of the ravine where a few macaws were flying around. He wore a worried expression as thoughts about Venus bubbled in his head. He was clearly concerned for his mate, for she had only been in the jungle for a few days. Despite having adapted quickly, Venus still had a long way to go before she was truly an expert in surviving in the jungle, and Blu was similar.

"I hope the stargazing group hasn't gone far," murmured Zephyr to himself, "I know Zoie is good at keeping groups safe but I just hope Venus, Virgil, Blu and Bia are alright…"

Just then two cerulean forms, one with a blue-white head came by with two more blue forms with grey heads: one teal-tinted turquoise and the other a rich blue. However, these two macaws had yellow eye rings and beak lappets. At this, Zephyr saw the quartet.

"Hey, Brisa, Jewel, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, what are you four still doing up? I thought you've all gone to bed," he said.

"Oh, it's too hot, Zephyr," said Brisa, "So we decided to get up and have a talk."

"Our chicks Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor, together with Mercury and Sapphire's chicks Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and Travis and Sunset's chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa have been struggling to sleep due to the heat," said Pluto.

"Roberto, Travis, Sunset, Mercury and Sapphire are currently telling them a story to help them relax but it doesn't seem to be doing anything," said Lapis Lazuli, "Pluto and I are just having a walk out with Brisa and Jewel here."

"Pluto and Lapis are still troubled by thoughts about those glaucous macaws," said Jewel, "They have been all day."

"I've heard that your father had tried to convince those macaws of their vulnerability with living outside the sanctuary," said Zephyr, "but to no avail. It's sad really, they're such rare birds."

"Jupiter, Venus and Blu came with us too," said Lapis Lazuli, "We needed backup with Eduardo to help convince Rudi my cousin, who leads the glaucous macaw tribe now, as Eduardo by himself wouldn't have been enough."

She then looked up at the night sky and sighed admirably at the sea of stars streaking the sky.

"It sure is beautiful tonight despite the heat," she cooed, "I might take our chicks out stargazing sometime…"

"Our daughter Bia is absolutely fascinated with the stars," said Jewel with an amused smile, "So is Jupiter and Ruby's son Ganymede. It seems to be one of their favourite things besides nature, physics and maths…"

"Blu seems to be into the very same things as Bia and Ganymede," said Zephyr, "I've seen him help Susan and Lucy, Venus and the others' former owners deal with the measurements for the construction of Travis and Sunset's birdhouse when we were in Rio. He's a very clever brainbox, he is."

"He is indeed," said Jewel proudly, "That's one of the things I like about him."

"I wonder if Bia and Ganymede would make a great couple when they grow up," said Pluto, "Since they're both into the same things."

This was met with a strange look from the others.

"Um, Bia's a Spix macaw, Pluto," said Brisa, "While Ganymede is a scarlet. Pairings between Spix and scarlet macaws have never happened to our knowledge."

"Yeah, and besides that, they're still chicks," said Jewel. Pluto blushed with shame, the skin under his grey facial feathers going red, wishing he had never said it now.

"It's alright," said Brisa with a smile, "Interspecific pairings do happen but it's very rare."

Suddenly, Jewel looked up and saw a small cerulean form and a small blue form loitering about near the edge of the ravine pool. At this, she frowned and walked over to them.

"Oi, Carla, Tiago, what are you two still doing up and outside our home?" she asked angrily. As she left to deal with the two chicks, Brisa sighed.

"I would like to have chicks one day," she murmured, "But I can't seem to find the right male to be my mate…"

"Don't force things, Brisa," said Pluto, "Your time will come."

Brisa sighed. Though she had some admiration for many of the young male macaws in the tribe, Roberto included, none appeared to appeal to her. However, it did appear that she had some feelings for Roberto for she was often enamoured by his singing talent and confidence apart from his phobias of humans except the well-meaning humans, and flying foxes after what happened to his family. Then Pluto moved onto something else.

"I heard Roberto had been the victim of a flying fox attack," he said, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind me asking but what happened?"

"Roberto has given me permission to explain to newcomers of his history and why he's afraid of bats," said Zephyr, but before he could launch into an explanation of how Roberto's family had died at the clutches of a group of flying foxes, the group heard Eduardo and Mimi's voices echo throughout the ravine air. At this, the group's heads were drawn to two forms flying frantically around the ravine and shouting.

"That's Eduardo and Mimi," said Pluto, "They sound really frightened."

At this, Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli began to listen to the tribe patriarch and his sister's cries.

"Fire, everyone!" shouted Eduardo, "There's fire on the way!"

"Everybody evacuate and get into the waterfall cave, NOW!" shouted Mimi. When the word 'fire' reached the ears of the group, the colour drained from their faces, and Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli felt fright flare up within them like the fireworks that exploded on New Year's Eve. Not too far away, Jewel also began to shake having heard her father and aunt's warning cries as well. Fire was what tore her, Zephyr, Brisa and Tornado and Gael from the Spix macaw tribe, and what Lapis Lazuli had faced when she was young but thankfully she was not separated from her tribe like some of the other macaws of the other tribes and clans were. She was torn from her tribe by the flying foxes when they attacked her tribe to drive them out. Then Lapis Lazuli panicked.

"I'll warn Roberto and the others at his tree and help them evacuate!" she shouted and with that, she rocketed off in the direction of Roberto's tree where Travis and Mercury and their families and her chicks were staying. Pluto followed. Then thoughts about Venus, Virgil, Blu and Bia and the others hit Zephyr. Turning to Brisa, he said, "You take Justin, Charlotte and Matilda to the waterfall cave! I've gotta fly out there and search for the stargazing group!"

And with that, he rocketed off in the direction of the ravine entrance while Brisa, without hesitation, rushed over to her brother and Venus's tree to call out the three chicks. Nearby, Jewel had begun to take Carla and Tiago to the waterfall cave. She was trembling violently as memories of her fiery nightmare as a young macaw- trees ablaze all around, animals trapped and screaming helplessly as the fire consumed them, and trees falling down, and no other Spix macaw in sight- came cascading down on her.

"Mom, what's wrong?" asked Carla, her Ipod on her.

"Just get behind the waterfall," commanded Jewel timidly. Then thoughts about Blu and Bia hit her through the flood of her memories of the fire. They, along with Venus and Virgil, were still out there with the other stargazers. At this, she looked around and saw Brisa take Justin, Charlotte and Matilda toward the waterfall. Behind Brisa, cerulean and blue comets were emerging from the trees and making a beeline for the waterfall cave as Eduardo and Mimi continued shouting their warnings and barking orders for the tribe to evacuate.

"Brisa," called Jewel, "Brisa!"

Brisa, at this, stopped.

"You take Carla and Tiago with you and look after them," shouted Jewel, "I've gotta…"

And with that, she rocketed off in the direction of the ravine entrance.

"Jewel, where are you going?" called Brisa, "Jewel, JEWEL!"

But Jewel was already out of earshot. Brisa, seeing no other choice and seeing Carla and Tiago fly after their mother, calling for her, immediately flew in front of the two chicks and stopped them.

"Get to the waterfall cave, NOW!" commanded Brisa firmly. Carla and Tiago reluctantly obeyed and followed Brisa toward the waterfall, with Justin, Charlotte and Matilda alongside them. As she took the seven chicks around the edge of the waterfall and into the cave which had begun to fill up with cerulean birds, she was met by a blue form with a blue-white head.

"Brisa," said Tornado angrily as Gael helped the macaws to carry eggs and chicks to the moss prebuilt in the event of an evacuation, "Where is your brother?"

"He's gone to look for the stargazing group," said Brisa, "So has Jewel by the sound of it. Blu, Venus, Bia and Virgil are still out there with the stargazing group."

When Tornado heard these words, horror exploded within him. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Stay here with your mother and help her with the macaws with the eggs and chicks. I'm gonna go out there and look for my son, Jewel and the stargazing group! If she asks where I've gone, tell her that, okay!?"

And with that, Tornado shot off out of the waterfall cave in a blue and blue-white blur. Moments later, a colourful group turned up. Travis and Sunset took their chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa toward a bed of moss and lay them down in it while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli placed their four chicks Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy into another bed of moss. Sapphire and Mercury also led Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette to another bed of moss. The chicks were clearly frightened and though they had never experienced a forest fire, they knew how frightening they were based on the stories Jewel, Brisa, Zephyr and the others had told them. Then Roberto appeared.

"Brisa, where are your brother and Ju-Ju?" he asked. Brisa shot him a horrified look. Then Roberto saw Justin, Charlotte and Matilda, Carla and Tiago as they settled down into a large bed of moss.

"They've gone out looking for the stargazing group," replied Brisa, "But these chicks need to be looked after."

When Roberto heard this, horror exploded within him. When Jewel had been reported missing and presumed dead in the previous fire, Roberto's heart had been torn in two. But seeing that the seven chicks needed looking after, Roberto said, "We'll have to get Eduardo to send out some patrollers to look for the stargazing group and collect them before the fire reaches them!"

And with that, he flew off to find Eduardo while Brisa stayed with Justin and his siblings and Carla and Tiago. She wore a horrified and worried expression. Her sister-in-law and one of her nephews, alongside Jewel's mate and one of her daughters were out there with some of the others. She hoped that they would be found before the fire reached them.

The fire continued raging and tearing through the trees. It was by now deep in the Sanctuary de Amazon and continued to quickly spread; eating away at the desiccated plants and trees and setting them alight. In the Lear's and green tribes' territories, trees were up in flames. The green tribe with a few glaucous macaws with them, watched in utter horror as the trees the green macaws called home were consumed by the flames. The Lear's macaw tribe that had taken refuge in their underground cave could see the orange glow of the fire as it consumed their home through holes in the cave ceiling. They trembled violently as they watched the awful sight. Outside in the Lear's macaws' ravine, there was an inferno. All the trees were alight in the ravine and around it, and the insides of the holes along the cliff faces, called home by most of the Lear's macaws, were searing and choked by the smoke from the flames. Any macaw that stayed in them would suffocate or be burned alive by the searing heat which was why they had to evacuate their homes. Outside the Lear's macaws' homes, the fire continued raging and consuming more trees. Animals fled ahead, among them dozens and dozens and dozens of glaucous macaws as they desperately searched for spots of refuge to escape the flames. Burning trees tumbled down and made terrifying crashing sounds while fiery branches rained down like volcanic rocks from the above canopy. The fire was indeed spreading very quickly through the territories of the green and Lear's macaw tribes and will soon spread to the trees of the other macaw flocks' territories. Back in the Spix macaws' ravine, the waterfall cave continued filling up with more and more blue and cerulean birds. Eduardo and Mimi continued watching the macaws as they evacuated to this massive cavern. Then a dreadful thought hit Eduardo.

"The stargazing group, Mimi," he shouted, "I forgot the stargazing group!"

Mimi, at this, reacted in horror just as Roberto flew in.

"Eduardo," he called, "Jewel and Zephyr have gone out to look for the stargazing group."

At this, Eduardo reacted with even more horror. Jewel was his only daughter whom he had lost in the fire and had been fortunate to have survived it but she had been separated from her tribe for well over fifteen years. He did not want to lose her to that same disaster again. Flooded with horror, Eduardo spread his wings and took off.

"Mimi, you and Roberto continue to help with the evacuation while I look for my daughter, Zephyr and the stargazing group," he ordered. Mimi nodded and continued helping the macaws to evacuate.

"I hope you make it back with Ju-Ju and the others," yelled Roberto but Eduardo was already out of earshot. Seeing no point in calling after him, Roberto resumed the job and helped a family of macaws carry their chicks too young to fly over to a bed of moss.

 **Meanwhile**

The stargazing group led by Zoie continued to observe the stars. Blu had brought his binoculars along in his fanny pack so that the macaws could look through the magnifying lenses at the distant dots of light. Each macaw took it in turns looking through the human-made lenses and the one handling them was Jupiter for he was one of the macaws who knew how to handle human things well based on his experience with them when he lived as a pet. He allowed both chicks and adults to look through them at the stars. While he did this, Blu explained to the group about the stars. He had been reading about the night sky a lot when he lived with Linda and thus knew quite a bit about the stars and constellations, and had been selected by Zoie to be the group's star guide.

"That three star row is Orion's Belt," said Blu, pointing a talon to a trio of stars that appeared to be aligned in a row. All eyes followed his point and saw them.

"And the fuzzy protrusion below those stars is Orion's Sword," said Blu, "In which the Orion Nebula can be found…"

Bia looked at the nebula through the binoculars held by Jupiter and saw a fuzzy smudge.

"Wow, it's awesome," she said, "I wanna be a nature teacher like Dad when he grows up."

"Let me see, Bia," said Virgil. Bia moved aside so that Virgil could look through them. He breathed a sigh of amazement when he saw the Orion Nebula. Jupiter looked at Bia and smiled at her desire to follow Blu's footsteps.

"Well, when we get the chance to go to Manaus or Rio in future," he said, "I'll help you look for some books on astronomy, nature and maths if you would like."

Bia smiled as Ganymede fluttered in.

"I wouldn't mind sharing mine with Bia, Dad," he said. Jupiter smiled.

"We'll see about that when we get to it," he said, "But for now, let's focus on the star tour. Blu has something else interesting to say…"

And with that, Bia, Ganymede and Virgil turned to Bia's dad as he began to explain the stars in the constellation Orion.

"That red-orange star on the top left of the pattern is called Betelgeuse," said Blu, pointing to the reddish star in its said location, "It's a red supergiant star nearing the end of its life according to human astronomers, that is, humans who study the stars…"

Jupiter and some of the others looked up at the reddish coloured star. Nearby, Io, Europa and Callisto gazed at the Orion pattern.

"Betelgeuse and Rigel," murmured Io, "I wouldn't mind naming my chicks after those two stars when I start my own family."

"Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka sound good as names as well," said Mimas as she hovered near Saturn and Titan.

"How are you doing with this trip, you two?" asked Bia.

"Oh, very well," said Titan, "And I really do admire your father's knowledge in this subject. You seem to take after Mr Blu in more ways than one."

"Ganymede seems to have a similar talent in intelligence as you and Mr Blu," said Mimas and with that, she gave Ganymede an admirable look. Ganymede blushed at the compliment while Bia gave a slight jealous look.

"Don't worry, Bia," said Virgil, "You're just as good as well. I especially admire your talent in maths. I could never get most of it, especially the advanced equations."

"I still remember you drawing Albert Einstein's equation of relativity in the sand once," said Ganymede, "When you were reading a book about quantum mechanics. I can only go as far as understanding classical mechanics like forces and motion, which means you're better at the maths side of science than I am…"

Bia smiled at this and Virgil began to wonder if Bia and Ganymede might hang out together quite often due to their similar interests. However, the thought of them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend sounded a bit strange for scarlet and Spix macaws almost never pair up. Only time will tell. Then Venus nearby let a yawn escape.

"Well, by the time we have finished this session," she said, "I'm going to go take Virgil straight to bed and then go myself. I'm getting tired and Zephyr will be expecting me to be back soon."

"Yeah, so am I," said Saturn tiredly, "It's been a tough day for all of us."

"I couldn't agree more," muttered Jupiter as he thought about how hot it had been for the past few days and nights. Nearby, Cherie, the red tribe's Pit of Doom scoremarker, nodded in agreement.

"This drought's been a horrible obstacle to deal with," she said, "I just hope we have a better night's sleep tonight."

Jupiter, Venus and Saturn sighed when Zoie flew in.

"Well, once Blu has finished talking about the Orion constellation, we're going back to our respective tribes," she said, "It is getting late for our kids after all."

And with that she looked down at the group of chicks including Bia, Virgil, Ganymede and his three sisters Io, Europa and Callisto, and Mimas and Titan. Jupiter then prepared to hand the binoculars back to Blu to put away in his fanny pack the moment he had finished.

"Ruby will be expecting her family back too," he said as the thought of his mate came to mind, "Too bad she had opted against going with us due to tiredness caused by the intense heat…"

"We don't know if this drought will continue further, Jupiter," said Zoie sadly. Then Cherie squinted into the distant horizon and thought she saw an opaque smudge forming.

"Er… I think the drought might be coming to an end actually, Zoie," she said, "I believe that's a raincloud forming over there…"

Zoie followed her gaze. "Where, Cherie?"

Before Cherie could answer, Saturn thought he smelt an unusual small. But this smell was repulsive.

"What's that stench?" he said, wincing at the smell as it entered his nostrils. Zoie, Cherie and Jupiter looked at him.

"What stench, Saturn?" asked Jupiter. Then Saturn began to recognise this odd smell. He had smelt something like this before, and it was associated with a compartment humans used to keep warm, with wood as the fuel for the source of the heat.

"It… smells… like… burning… wo-o-o-od…" he murmured, as recognition crept in. then the acrid smell entered Jupiter's nostrils and then those of Cherie, Zoie and Venus nearby. Blu continued talking about the Orion constellation when he was caught in the web of the acrid smell as well. The other macaws and the chicks also began to complain. Virgil pinched his nostrils with a talon.

"Oh, what stinks," he muttered.

"It smells like a wood-using fireplace," said Venus. At this, Jupiter shot her a dreaded glare.

"Out here in the rainforest where there's barely little pollution from burning things?" he asked.

"What's a fireplace?" asked Cherie. Venus was about to explain when Zoie looked around, but what came next was about to send panic exploding through the stargazing group like a shockwave. It was then that the sound of something burning reached the ears of the group and when Zoie located the source of the sound, she managed to restrain a scream. The crackling sound of wood burning, accompanied by the smell of the same thing, was caused by a sea of dancing orange shapes, amorphous and forever changing at a rapid rate. Black smoke spewed from the tops of these shapes and filled the air. Then the eyes of the stargazing group turned and landed on the spreading orange sea, and it was spreading fast, heading right in their direction. The sounds of frightened animals fleeing from the sea also reached the ears of the group. One word exploded from Zoie's beak.

"FIRE!" she cried. And with that, everything was sent into pandemonium. Screaming, the macaws made a fly for it, scattering in different directions and diverging from each other. Jupiter had grabbed Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto after handing the binoculars back to Blu who hastily packed it into his fanny pack and had begun to flee. Saturn had grabbed Mimas and Titan in his talons while Venus did the same to Virgil and Bia and the other adults did the same to their chicks. Blu also began to follow the group. When Zoie saw the group scatter, she realised that if they continued flying in those directions, they may get lost and never find each other again.

"Stop!" she cried but when that went unheard, she screeched the word at the top of her lungs. The other macaws stripped and hovered, turning to her.

"Stay together!" cried Zoie, "And follow me! If you scatter, you'd get lost which would be fatal!"

Obeying her orders, the other macaws returned to her and Zoie began to lead the group away from the fire. Kids were screaming in fright as they watched the lethal orange sea approach the group at an alarming rate, and Jupiter, Venus, Blu and Saturn, while they had never experienced a forest fire in their lives before, were extremely frightened. Jupiter, with a firm hold on his three daughters and son in his talons stole a glance at the sea of orange and cloud of black spitting up from the tops of the orange shapes. While he had never faced a fire like this, he knew how destructive fire can be if it got out of control. He had heard of wildfires causing chaos in some other countries like Australia plus the stories of Jewel, Ruby and some of the others being torn from their tribes and clans by a wild fire caused by loggers years ago, and how terrifying fires were. Pushing these thoughts aside, Jupiter began to focus on escaping and carrying his kids to safety. Then the stargazing group began to make a break for it. Blu then realised that his daughter was missing.

"Bia," he called, "Bias, where are you!?"

"She's in my talons," called Venus. When Blu saw that Bia was in one of Venus's talons, he breathed a sigh of relief. Bia and Virgil who clung on to Venus's talons were clearly frightened, as were the other chicks. They had been told by their parents the story of the devastation the previous fire had caused the tribes and clans, and Bia, along with Tiago and Carla, had been told by Jewel how she and Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado and Gael had been torn from their tribe by it when Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa were young. Ruby had also told Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto her story of the same thing she had faced as well, and Orquidea had told Mimas and Titan along with Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus, and Zephyr had told Virgil, Justin, Charlotte and Matilda. Now the chicks were to face a fire for the first time in their lives. The stargazing group continued following Zoie, making sure to stay near the group and not to go veering off for that could have fatal consequences. Behind the group, the fire continued raging and spreading. Animals, propelled by panic, continued fleeing from the lethal orange sea of light and heat, and the choking smoke that spewed from their tips into the air. This smoke was gagging the stargazing group but they continued flying on.

"Howe on earth did that fire get started!?" yelled Cherie, stealing a brief glance at the fire behind the group, "I thought this area's become a protected reserve."

"I don't know but I'd hate to find out," yelled Zoie in reply, "Let's just focus on escaping!"

Suddenly, yells of agony were heard and when the group turned round, they saw one of the blue-and-gold macaws yell for help as something hot had landed onto his wing. The group stopped into a hover and looked down in horror.

"Ritchie, NO!" cried Zoie as she watched the male blue-and-gold sink out of the air and towards the canopy with a smoking right wing. Venus, at this, decided to do something very risky. Passing Bia and Virgil to Blu, she folded her wings and dived down after Ritchie as he continued falling through the air and crying in pain.

"Venus, NO!" CRIED Jupiter but Venus did not listen. As soon as Venus had reached Ritchie, she saw that a cinder from the fire had landed on his wing. The two macaws landed onto a branch where Venus began to quickly deal with Ritchie's burning wing. With little time with the fire closing in fast, Venus began to look around for some water but realised there was none for most of the water had evaporated from the immense heat caused by the drought. Then another thought came to her. She had read a book on fire safety including what humans had to do if their clothes ever caught fire.

"Ritchie, roll around on the branch until your wing stops smoking!" she cried. Ritchie, at this, did so without hesitation. He rolled around in a desperate attempt to put out the cinder on his wing. After a few frantic seconds, the smoking stopped.

"Okay, it's out," cried Ritchie but then he realised that he cannot fly for the burned wing was very painful and had damaged some of the flight feathers. However, a blue-and-gold macaw, one of which didn't have chicks in his talons had flown in and had wrapped his talons around Ritchie's wings to carry him to safety. Then the blue-and-gold macaw took off with Ritchie followed by Venus moments before flames came along and consumed the branch they were on. The stargazing group was back on the track to escaping once again, but this time they were flying faster. Venus was at the back of the group trying to keep up. She was clearly frightened and after that close shave with the flames a few seconds ago from rescuing Ritchie, Venus was desperate to get to safety. As the stargazing group continued rocketing on to escape the fire, animals were fleeing all around them. Monkeys leapt from tree to tree while birds were shooting through the air, screaming "Fire, fire!"

When Zoie realised that the group was surrounded by feathered comets, she called, "Look out! Keep a firm grip on your chicks!"

The carriers of the chicks did so while those that were not carrying chicks began to see off the fast-flying birds. Jupiter gripped Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto tightly and stayed in the middle of the group with Saturn who held Mimas and Titan, and Blu who carried Bia and Virgil. Feathered comets then zipped through and past the group, not caring about what was in the way. The macaws not carrying chicks desperately tried seeing off the comets but some got past the defence group and shot past the chick carriers. Blu was almost hit in the stomach by a small finch, while Saturn was thrown into a corkscrew when a parakeet struck his wing. Luckily, he managed to regain control of his flight and did not lose Mimas and Titan who were stunned from the rolling. Another Spix macaw that had a chick in her talons was also struck by a fast-flying small bird but a scarlet macaw managed to catch her while she held fast to her chick, and Jupiter lunged at a green-winged macaw carrying two chicks to knock him out of the way of an incoming parakeet. The defending macaws tried their best to ward off the feathered missiles while Zoie barked orders to them to watch where they were flying and that some of the macaws with her had chicks. However, this made little difference as more comets continued rushing in. Behind the group, Venus continued dodging the feathered missiles and helping to ward off more incoming birds for she did not have Virgil and Bia in her talons now. As she continued warding off more birds shooting in from behind the group, a large green blur of a parakeet rocketed in and smashed straight into Venus's back. Stunned, the pigtailed Spix macaw was knocked clean out of the air and began to plummet towards the canopy. The other macaws were too occupied with either escaping or warding off more feathered missiles to notice that Venus had been knocked out of the air.

Elsewhere, the fire had spread into the blue-and-gold macaws' territory. Glaucous macaws continued fleeing from the fire and looking for refuge spots to take shelter from the flames and some had fled into the blue-and-gold macaws' territory. In the underground cavern, Soleado looked on in utter worry, hoping that his mate would turn up safely with Saturn, Mimas and Titan and the other blue-and-gold macaws that had gone stargazing with some of the red and Spix macaws. He also hoped that the red and Spix macaws would make it back to their tribes safely, and into their evacuation points, or perhaps somewhere else that was safe until the fire died down. The other blue-and-gold macaws still waiting for their friends and relatives to return, among them Ignacio, his mate Sandra and daughter Preciosa, and Saturn and Orquidea's other five chicks Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus, also waited anxiously. However, the blue-and-gold macaw tribe had been in for a shock when a stream of macaws, not blue-and-gold macaws, but macaws of a different species, the species the blue-and-gold tribe had thought perished at the clutches of the flying foxes years ago, poured into the cavern through the mouth. Soleado almost fainted when he saw the lot enter through the mouth like a swarm of turquoise, blue and grey insects.

"What in the world!?" he shouted as the birds flew over the sea of blue, yellow and green and began to fill up whatever space they could find in the crowd. Blue-and-gold macaws parted to allow the panicked glaucous macaws to land. Many had chicks and eggs. Seeing that there was no time to ponder how the glaucous macaws had survived the flying fox attack, Soleado barked orders to his tribe to help the macaws in, which the blue-and-gold macaws did. Ignacio and Sandra led a macaw couple with two unhatched eggs in their talons toward where Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus, and Preciosa were.

"Oh, thank you, you're a big help," said the female macaw. The male also gave Ignacio and Sandra a grateful look as he placed the two eggs into the moss bed, the six chicks moving out of the way. Enceladus helped with the egg placement.

"Impossible," he cried as he did it, "I thought Mr Pluto, Mrs Lapis Lazuli and Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor were the last glaucous macaws alive."

"We didn't think that any of you would have survived that bat attack," said Sandra to the glaucous macaw couple, scanning the surroundings and examining the other glaucous macaws being helped by her tribemates, "How did you manage to escape being completely slaughtered?"

"It's a long story," said the female glaucous macaw as she checked her two eggs, "We'll explain later."

Ignacio and Sandra sighed and then turned their eyes back to the entrance as the last of the group of glaucous macaws entered the cave.

"Oh, Orquidea, I hope you come back safely with Saturn, Mimas, Titan and the others before the fire completely engulfs our home," Ignacio murmured hopefully and tearfully. Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus also murmured and wept. Both their parents and their brother and sister were out there.

Soon, word had reached the ears of the red macaw tribe, the blue-throated macaw clan and Bluewing hyacinth clan, and the Navyfeather Clan. Felipe, Reynaldo, Demetrio and Flavio had immediately began evacuating their tribes and clans to their evacuation points too and Felipe had sent a group of patrollers to find and retrieve the scarlet and green-winged macaws, among them Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, from the stargazing group. As the cave outside the red macaws' home patch began to fill with red birds with yellow, blue, green and teal wings and tails, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre and Ruby had moved to the cave. As Mars placed the tired and frightened Phobos and Deimos into a bed of moss while Chiquitita placed Alexandre in with his older but smaller siblings and left to help the other red macaws, Ruby was totally on edge, and was hyperventilating and fidgety.

"Jupiter and all my chicks are still out there," she cried, glancing at the dark forest outside. Mars then tried to calm her down.

"Ruby, breathe. Felipe has recommended against us flying out into the dark forest to look for them, Ruby," he said, "Leave it to the patrol team Felipe has sent out."

However, his words could do nothing to ease Ruby's panicked state, but Mars understood why. Her entire family was out there and she dreaded to think what could happen to Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and the others if the fire ever caught them. Then Chiquitita came in. She also looked worried about Jupiter and the others with him including his four chicks.

"They've just got to get back here soon," she said, "Based on what Alonso and Valentino's patrollers have said, the fire is spreading fast due to the dryness of the plants."

Ruby, at this, continued hyperventilating and then collapsed. It was just too much to take in. History was repeating itself with the same disaster- that very same one that tore her and Chiquitita from the red tribe- and this time, her family was out there. When Mars and Chiquitita saw the scarlet macaw fall backwards, they gasped.

"Ruby!" cried Mars and with that, he went over to her, Chiquitita close behind. As the two green-winged macaws examined the limp scarlet macaw, Chiquitita felt her pulse.

"She's fainted," she said, "We'd better get one of the tribe nurses to take care of her."

Mars then looked at Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, who were very worried for their 'cousins' Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and the others who had gone stargazing and then back at Chiquitita.

"This is exactly what Jewel, you, Ruby and some of the others went through during the last fire, isn't it?" he said. Chiquitita nodded. Mars then looked at the limp Ruby, a worried expression swamping his face. "If Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are found missing after the fire or what's worse, killed either by the flames or falling trees, she's going to be in total bits."

Chiquitita knew what that meant. If that were true, Ruby's heart would shatter like glass. Of all macaws, Jupiter was the one she loved most, and she also loved her four chicks. She did not want them all to perish in the fire, certainly not after they had just moved to the Amazon to live as wild birds. As Mars then looked at the other red macaws as they entered the caves, chicks and eggs being carried, he began to shudder but part of him clung onto a glimmer of hope that Jupiter and the other red macaws and the Spix and blue-and-gold stargazers were still alive and had found safety from the flames.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26- someone has gone missing!**

Zoie continued leading the stargazing group as they flew quickly through the forest with the fire close behind them. To the group's relief, the missiles of fleeing birds had subsided and the defending macaws no longer had to deal with any more feathered comets threatening to hit the macaws carrying the chicks and send chicks flying everywhere. No chick had been lost which all the adults were glad for. However, no-one had noticed that one of the Spix macaws had gone missing. As the stargazing group continued rocketing on, Saturn stole a glance at the fire behind the group. The proximity of the flames to the group was startling. The formerly domesticated blue-and-gold macaw shuddered and kept a firm grip on Titan and Mimas, who were extremely scared and screaming as they watched the fire creep after the group. He hoped that this would be the only time he would experience a forest fire and hoped that he would never, ever experience an inferno like this again. Fire was useful, Saturn knew that, but if it were ever allowed to get out of control or fall into the wrong hands, he knew how destructive it can become. Suddenly, Zoie's cries snapped Saturn out of his thoughts. However, these cries weren't those of fright, but of utter relief.

"Oh, thank goodness," cried the blue-and-gold tribe matriarch. At this, Blu who held Virgil and Bia and had his fanny pack on him, looked up and saw a group of macaws approach the stargazing group. It was a group of blue-and-gold macaws, sent by Soleado to pick up Saturn and the others with him to take back to the blue-and-gold macaw tribe. With them was Orquidea and when she saw Saturn, Mimas and Titan, she made a beeline for them.

"Saturn!" she cried.

"Orquidea!" cried Saturn and with that, Orquidea flew over to him and kissed him.

"I thought you'd have died in the fire," cried Orquidea.

"Zoie," cried one of the patrollers at the front of the group, "Thank goodness you and your stargazing group are still alive."

"Let's get you to safety, and quick!" said another patroller. Zoie nodded and turned to the stargazing group.

"Everyone follow Henrique and the patrol group," she commanded in a loud voice, "And as always, stay together. Now LET'S MOVE!"

The stargazers obeyed without hesitation and flew off after the patrol group led by Henrique, one of Orquidea's childhood friends. The group then took off with Zoie close behind, the fire raging and spreading to the next plants behind them. As the group flew on, some more macaws flew in. this time the group was blue or cerulean with blue-white faces. Blu immediately recognised two of the macaws at the front and immediately flew over to them.

"Oh, Zephyr, Tornado, thank goodness!" he cried.

"Blu," cried Zephyr and with that, he flew over to him and hugged him. After the two males broke the brief hug, the other Spix macaws in the stargazing group flew over to the Spix macaw patrol group.

"You lot head back to your tribe's ravine, and quick," commanded Zoie, "We're so sorry about this mess."

"Yeah, don't worry about us," said Jupiter who had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in his talons, "We'll be fine. Zoie's going to take us to her tribe's evacuation pint unless a patrol group from my and Felipe's tribe comes in to collect us."

"Don't worry, Zoie, it wasn't your fault," said Tornado. Then Zephyr began to look for Venus.

"Venus," he called. At this, the other stargazers began to look around but could not find the pigtailed female with them at all. The moment they realised that Venus wasn't with the group, horror tore through all the macaws, especially Zephyr, Saturn and Jupiter. Panic and dread then boiled within Zephyr as he began to frantically cry for his mate. Jupiter and Blu looked around with a horrified expression on their faces.

"That can't be," screeched Jupiter, "She was right with us."

"Where could she go?" called Blu. Then a Spix macaw patroller's voice sounded.

"Wait, where's Jewel?" he asked. At this, all macaws whipped round and to their horror, Jewel was missing as well. Tornado felt a torrent of dread crash into him as he had a horrible thought.

"Oh, no," he muttered, "Don't tell me she and Venus have…"

And with that, he turned his head in the direction of the sea of flames. Zephyr also looked at the fire, a mortified expression on his face. Then Zoie's voice broke through the horror.

"We need to get these macaws to safety," she called impatiently as the fire crept closer to the group, coughing from the smoke, "I'm sorry but we don't have time to be hovering here. It's too dangerous."

Blu, who also stared at the flames, then began to make his decision. Passing Bia and Virgil to one of the Spix macaw patrollers, he said, "Here, take these two to their families back in the ravine's waterfall cave! I'm gonna look for Jewel!"

And with that, the brown-eyed Spix macaw rocketed off in the direction of the flames. Tornado called after him.

"Blu, get back here! It's too dangerous," he called, "Blu, Blu!"

However, Blu was already out of earshot and had disappeared into the flames. Bia and Virgil called for Blu before Zephyr then decided to look for Venus.

"You lot get to safety, I'm gonna look for Venus in the fire," he cried. Tornado, at this, grabbed his son by the sides with his talons and shook him violently.

"You are NOT gonna go into the flames, son," he snarled.

"But Dad," protested Zephyr but Tornado swept on.

"No, I am NOT gonna lose you again!" retorted his dad angrily, "Remember what happened last time when we were torn from our tribe with your mother and sister!"

He then released Zephyr and looked at him but Zephyr's determined expression remained.

"I'm NOT going to allow my beloved star flower to perish in the fire, Dad," he retorted, "If she is ever found missing or dead, I'll never forgive myself."

There was a brief moment of silence among the group.

"Guys, we'd better get going," said Zoie warily as the fire crept closer. Zephyr and Tornado continued glaring at each other, Tornado against Zephyr's idea of going into the inferno for his safety and Zephyr determined to rescue Venus. After this, Jupiter made the decision.

"Zephyr, you try and find Venus but do be careful!" he called, "While we get to safety."

"Right," said Zephyr. Tornado then reluctantly decided to go along.

"I'm coming with you," he said, "I don't want to risk losing you again like I've said before."

"Then let's get to it," said Zoie and with that, the group split up. Zephyr and Tornado flew off in the direction of the flames while the rest continued their journey. Zephyr then shot the macaw carrying Bia and Virgil and said, "You look after our chicks while we look for Venus. Also take care of Carla, Bia and Tiago, won't you!"

The macaw nodded while Virgil cried after his dad and grandfather as they disappeared into the blazing trees. However, he and Bia were soon carried off by the macaw as he flew off with the other Spix macaws. The Spix macaws then split from the red and blue-and-gold macaws and rocketed off in the direction of the Spix tribe's ravine while everyone else headed off for the blue-and-gold macaws' home patch.

"Have a safe flight," cried Saturn after the Spix macaws, but they were already out of earshot. He continued his flight after Orquidea and the other red and blue and yellow macaws, Mimas and Titan in tow. A while later, the patrol group sent by Felipe had found the stargazing group to collect Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and the other scarlet and green-winged macaws. Like the blue-and-gold macaw patrollers they were glad to see the red macaws alive and well, but their rendezvous with Zoie's group was short-lived. After saying goodbye to the blue-and-gold macaws the patrol group then escorted Jupiter and the other red macaws with him back to Felipe's tribe's home patch and the cave where the other were waiting, while the blue-and-gold macaws made a hasty flight to the other blue-and-gold macaws' home patch and cavern.

The Spix macaw patrol group and the stargazers continued flying back in the direction of the Spix macaws' ravine, the fire raging some distance away. Bia and Virgil were frightened, as were the other Spix chicks that had come stargazing with them. The fire had taken the group by surprise. As the Spix macaw group continued flying through the dark forest still unlit by the fire, they saw an old and large Spix macaw approach them. The Spix macaw at the front recognised him.

"Eduardo," he called and with that, he shot off towards him, the others following. When the large old bird, Eduardo, saw the patrollers, relief flooded within them.

"Oh, Artie, thank goodness," cried the Spix tribe patriarch with relief. As the Spix macaw patrollers and stargazers met their patriarch, the lead patroller, Artie began to explain everything.

"The red and blue-and-gold macaws have been picked up by a patrol group sent by Soleado," he said, "So they're in safe hands."

"Oh, good," said Eduardo. He then realised that Blu and Venus were not with them.

"Where are Blu and Venus?" he asked, "And also Jewel, Zephyr and Tornado? Those three had gone out to look for you."

This was met by a horrified look on the patrol and stargazing group. They did not want to answer this question, knowing how Eduardo would react, especially to Jewel's absence. But seeing how close the fire was getting to the group, they decided to leave for the ravine first. Meanwhile, the blue-and-gold macaw patrol group had led the blue-and-gold macaws that had joined the stargazing group to the underground cave where they were reunited with their families and friends. They had made it in time as well for the fire had begun to consume the blue-and-gold macaws' home trees. Orquidea, Saturn, Mimas and Titan were reunited with Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus and of course, Ignacio, Sandra and Preciosa, and Zoie had reunited with Soleado and Tobias. Then after everything had settled down in the cavern, the blue-and-gold tribe, along with their glaucous macaw guests, began to brace for the worst as the fire continued to spread throughout the blue-and-gold macaws' home trees. The red macaws had also made it back to their tribe's home patch and had made a beeline for the cave. Reunion had also taken place between the stargazers and their families and friends, especially Ruby with Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. It had been a tearful reunion, especially for Ruby who had been plagued by thoughts of Jupiter and her four chicks being found burned after the fire. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto had been badly shaken, as had Jupiter. With the red macaws, Alonso and Valentino's patrol groups had taken shelter in the red tribe's cave for it was now too late and dangerous to return to green and Lear's tribes' territories with the fire raging outside.

In the blue-throated and Bluewing hyacinth clans' home patch, dark blue and yellow-orange (with some lighter blue and yellow) and navy blue birds were filling their evacuation spot, a large island in the middle of a lake in their territory in a large clearing, unlike the other bird tribes and clans, whose evacuation point was some sort of cave. The large island however did have a small cave and also some trees and bushes, which were withered like the other plants from the drought. The large space between these trees and the surrounding trees on the edge of the lake provided a barrier against the fire thus making this patch of land an ideal evacuation point for the Bluewings and the blue-throated macaws did not have a large cave to take refuge in, and the island was big enough to shelter two clans of macaws. As the hyacinth and blue-throated macaws headed for the island, termed the evacuation island, Violeta and Reynaldo's mate, Anita were guiding macaws to various spots. Macaws carried eggs and chicks too young to fly as well as much of the fruit that had been hoarded into a storage tree, knowing that the tree would catch fire due to it being close to the other trees, burning the fruit inside. Demetrio and Reynaldo were ushering the macaws out of the home patch and shouting orders to evacuate. Demetrio's voice was the loudest, and it sounded like a booming horn. Demetrio would only shout like this if he wanted to get the macaws' attention, to bark orders or to give a misbehaved macaw or outsider a good telling off. While he and Reynaldo continued shouting at the macaws to leave their trees, Cobalto lead Ceres, Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio toward the evacuation island. He and Ceres both had a large bag made from interwoven leaves and twigs to carry the fruit Cobalto had stored up for his family. As he led his family along the stream of navy blue, dark blue and yellow-orange macaws, he clearly looked extremely scared.

"Fire was the disaster that tore you from your clan isn't it?" asked Ceres in a loud voice, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul flying alongside her.

"This is bringing back a torrent of bad memories," replied Cobalto loudly, "I honestly can't emphasize how terrifying it was when I found that I couldn't find my clan or the Bluewings at all. The fire took us by surprise and evacuation was carried out right too close to when the fire started consuming our home trees."

"Well at least we've been warned earlier this time," replied Ceres. She stole a glance at her sons and made sure that all three were present. To her gladness, they were. Then Ceres and her family continued following the other blue-throated and hyacinth macaws toward the island. As they flew through the clearing and over the lake surrounding the island, Ceres stole a glance downward at the water. The lake was clearly shrunken though it was hard to see in the darkness but when Ceres had got a glimpse of it last time during the day, she had been horrified to see how much dehydrated and cracked mud was visible around the rim where the water had contracted from evaporation from the intense heat. Here and there, fish corpses littered the area after being stranded and exposed to the hot sun. Cobalto had told Ceres that in previous droughts, the lake had shrunken much further than what she was observing now, and at one time it had almost lost all its water. As Ceres thought about the lake, the island melted into view. The blue-throated macaws were directed by Anita toward the small cave while the hyacinth macaws were directed by Violeta toward the trees. Cobalto, Ceres and their sons followed the other blue-throated macaws toward the small cave where they settled into a soft spot amongst the sea of rich blue and yellow-orange. Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul then settled under Ceres's wings as she settled into a soft hole in the soil on the cave floor and began to watch as more blue-throated macaws entered the cave. In the Navyfeather Clan's territory, the hyacinth macaws were also moving to their evacuation point, another cave under a stream. This cave was large enough to house a clan of large macaws with lots of room to spare. As the Navyfeather Clan continued entering the cave, Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton settled into a bed of moss. Neptune placed a large bag of collected fruit aside and then flew off to help the other hyacinth macaws carry chicks and eggs into the cave. Triton and Indigo looked very frightened.

"What are we gonna do, Mommy?" squeaked Indigo.

"We're going to stay here until the fire dies down, sweetie," said Ultramarine as she checked the bag of fruit. The hyacinth macaws had collected the fruit they had stored up for the drought in their trees and had brought them to the cave.

"What was it like when you were surrounded by fire?" asked Triton. Ultramarine gave him a look.

"Extremely scary," she said, "Think of the nightmare you had one night of being chased by dogs. This is a thousand times worse. It was when your mother was torn from her clan."

"Were you all alone?" asked Indigo.

"Well, there was no-one else in sight," said Ultramarine as she shuddered at the memories, "But let's just settle here until the fire dies down. I'll tell you more about my horrifying ordeal later."

Triton and Indigo obeyed while Ultramarine continued checking the fruit packed into the leaf and twig bag. Neptune was helping Victor's family. Victor was a hyacinth macaw chick and a friend of Indigo and Triton. He always wore a fruit shell for a hat and would throw it like how humans would throw a disc-shaped object called a Frisbee as Neptune had observed, and his friends would try and catch it. Victor was never seen without his fruit shell hat and if he lost it, he would look for a replacement. He was the only son of his parents, Pedro and Bruna, who were Marinho and Ultramarine's friends when they were chicks. Pedro and Bruna were expecting two chicks and thus had a clutch of two eggs. They had decided to give Victor some siblings to play with for they felt that he was a bit lonely in the hollow though he had some outside-family friends, among them Neptune and Ultramarine's two, Triton and Indigo. As Neptune carefully placed one of the eggs into a dip in the soil of the cave floor, Bruna gave him a grateful glance while she placed the other egg into the dip.

"Thanks, Neptune," she said, "You're a big help."

"No problem," said Neptune. Nearby, Victor and Pedro lowered the bag of fruit.

"Last time a fire broke out, knowing that it was caused by loggers, we were taken by surprise," said Pedro, "And believe me it was a living nightmare. We lost quite a few members of our clan, among them Ultramarine. Flavio's mate Lena had perished in the fire, as had his brother Rico and sister-in-law Angela, who had been the parents of Ultramarine and her brother Marinho. Rico had been our patriarch but after he had died, Flavio, being his only surviving brother and thus closest blood relative, took it up. But he had properly taken it up months later for he had a broken heart over losing his mate, brother and sister-in-law, and of course Ultramarine, to contend with first."

"Did Flavio and Lena have any chicks?" asked Neptune. Pedro checked on Bruna as she made sure that the eggs were unharmed.

"They did have a clutch of two eggs," he said, "But they turned out to be infertile, which is why Flavio had opted against finding another mate after Lena's death. He feels that he might have fertility problems."

"I've been told that Mimi of the Spix macaw tribe cannot have chicks," said Neptune, "Apparently for the same reason."

"Some individuals are infertile, sadly," said Bruna as Victor settled beside her, "It's just one of those things."

Just then, Neptune heard Marinho's voice. At this, he stole a glance from his brother-in-law as he ushered more hyacinth macaws into the cave.

"Alright, keep moving, everyone, that's good!" he said. Dozens of clan members carried more eggs and chicks and fruit bags into the cave and settled into whatever empty space they could find.

"In the last fire," said Bruna as Neptune continued watching the clan enter the cave, "We didn't stock up enough fruit either. As a result, we were faced with going hungry as the majority of the trees that produce fruit had been burned. We had to turn to other tribes and clans for help and thankfully, the red tribe was able to help us with food stocks for they had stored up enough food in their home patch."

"Looks like we have been well prepared this time," said Neptune. He then saw Ultramarine beckon him.

"I'd better go," he told Victor's parents, "Ultramarine wants me by her side."

And with that, he opened his wings and took off in the direction of his family's location, leaving Pedro and his family to settle.

In the Spix macaws' ravine, Eduardo had managed to lead the patrol and stargazing group to the safety of the waterfall cave. The Spix macaw carrying Virgil and Bia took the chicks to their respective families where they were reunited with their siblings, and the other chicks and their parents that had come stargazing were also returned to their families. Roberto and Brisa took Bia and placed them with Tiago and Carla, who were relieved to see their sister alive and well.

"Man, sis, I thought you had died," cried Tiago as he gave Bia a crushing hug. Carla also gave her sister a hug.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" she asked, "And Aunt Venus?"

Bia didn't reply. She had been traumatised by the whole thing including the fire taking the group by surprise and almost being lost when Blu was almost stuck several times by some of the fleeing birds. Roberto gave Bia a relieved hug.

"But at least you've been returned to us safely," he said. But then the thought about Zephyr, Blu and Jewel entered his mind. Brisa also looked worried.

"Eduardo's not going to like this," she said to Roberto in a low voice. Roberto replied with an agreeing look. Nearby, Viento, Gael and Nuvem were relieved that Virgil had been returned. After thanking the Spix macaw patroller who then left to look for his family, Virgil was swallowed but by a number of wing pairs. His siblings, Justin, Charlotte and Matilda all hugged him as did Viento, Gael and Nuvem. Like Bia and the other Spix macaw chicks, he was traumatised and was crying frightened tears and trembling.

"At least you have been returned safely, Virg," said Nuvem with relief, "You're safe now."

"But where are Zephyr, Venus, Blu and Tornado?" asked Viento. Virgil then gave his great-uncle a saddened look. Dread hit Gael.

"Oh, no," she muttered in a low voice. Suddenly, there was an anguished cry from an old male macaw. At this, Viento, Nuvem and Gael turned to see Eduardo scream at the top of his lungs when the Spix macaw patrollers told him that Jewel and Venus had gone missing and that Blu, Zephyr and Tornado had gone to look for them in the fire. then feelings of immense guilt began to wash over Eduardo like the rushing water in the Amazon River when it is full, and he began to blame himself for forgetting the stargazing group. Mimi began to try and console him.

"Oh, Eduardo, please don't blame yourself," she said. But Eduardo refused to let these comforting words calm the storm of guilt raging within him.

"But we forgot about the stargazing group completely, Mimi," shouted the tribe patriarch, tears falling from his eyes in large amounts, "We were so consumed with panic about the fire when those three green macaws warned us, that we just forgot about them. And because of that, I almost lost some of my tribe members, among them one of my granddaughters, Bia, and now, my daughter, son-in-law, and my new tribe member and her mate and father-in-law are out there in the dangers of the fire. Oh, if only we hadn't forgotten about the stargazing group in the first place, we wouldn't have put everyone in this mess!"

And with that, he began to break down hard, refusing Mimi's comfort. Mimi then began to feel guilty as well. Looking at Carla, Bia and Tiago under Roberto and Brisa's care, and then at Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil under Gael, Nuvem and Viento's care, feelings of dread washed over her as she could not imagine those two broods of chicks losing both their parents to the fire. Roberto stared back at Mimi with worried eyes. Jewel had been one of his closest friends when they were young, and if that relationship had continued to develop as they grew had that fire not torn Jewel from the tribe, they would have likely become boyfriend and girlfriend. This closeness was why Blu showed a dislike towards Roberto when they first met, and why he feared that Roberto may try and ignite the flames between him and Jewel. Roberto also still had some feelings for Jewel as well, not realising she was already paired with Blu, but after learning that Jewel already had a mate, he had learned to be more careful, but Roberto still treated Jewel as a close friend. But as far as Jewel was concerned, he was developing feelings for another female macaw, Zephyr's sister Brisa. As worries for Blu, Jewel, Venus and Zephyr, and Tornado plagued his mind, Roberto began to focus on caring for Blu and Jewel's chicks, Carla, Bia and Tiago with Brisa, who was also very worried about her brother, father and sister-in-law, until the whole nightmare was over, but was is going to be an anxious wait.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27- refuges and intense fear, dread and heartbreak**

Venus opened her eyes but as she did so, she found that she was finding it difficult to breathe and was gagging and choking. At this, Venus sat bolt upright and examined her surroundings. To her utter horror, she was on the forest floor… with every tree and undergrowth ablaze with flames. Then something burning landed on Venus's shoulder. At this, the pigtailed Spix macaw leaped to her feet and began to dislodge the little cinder from her shoulder with her other wing, yelping in pain. The moment Venus had done so, she felt instinct inside her screech at her to flee to safety, so that's what Venus did. Spreading her wings and taking off, Venus began to try and escape the fire by flying out of it or seeking shelter. Venus had never been so frightened in her life aside from the violent confrontation with that psychotic cat Brutus a few years ago. Her maya blue feathers were puffed out and her pigtail feathers were spiked out all over the place, much like how the mop of head feathers on Roberto would spike out whenever he got angry or frightened. Venus's amber eyes were saturated with fear and dread and adrenaline was flooding her body. Venus, filled with fright in every part of her body, began to look for and call out for any macaws for help as she began to fly through the inferno.

"HEEEELLLP!" she screeched, "SOMEBODY, HEEEELLLP MEEE!"

Venus then began to consider the option of flying through the canopy and out over the treetops but then she had a second thought: crown fire, which was the burning of the treetops, would make that route too dangerous, since a bird could risk getting caught in the flames. Putting the idea of flying upward through the canopy as out of the question, Venus began to fly through the trees. She choked and gagged as smoke swamped her lungs, and her eyes stung from the irritating chemicals that were carried in the smoke. Venus then began to try and fly quickly through the trees, being careful not to fly into any burning plant. Every undergrowth and tree was on fire and vines were burning strings of fire. Venus knew that branches on fire would sometimes come crashing down from the above canopy, based on what Jewel told her when she had to fly through this as a young macaw. A few minutes after Venus woke up and finding herself amidst the inferno, it happens. Venus heard the sound of loud cracking above her. At this, she looked up and when she saw some fiery cylinders and fragments drop from above toward her, she screeched. Venus quickly flew forward moments before the burning branches could crash on top of her. Venus then heard the sound of the fiery pieces crash onto the forest floor. She looked back and saw the burning branches come to rest under where she had been hovering. Then Venus flew on, terror-filled eyes scanning the fiery surroundings. One thought was repeating in her head: 'I've got to get out of this inferno. I've just GOT to.'

Without any more hesitation, Venus continued on.

At this moment, a male blue macaw with brown eyes and a human thing called a fanny pack tied around his waist was flying through the inferno as well. However, he wasn't fleeing the fire, but searching for someone lost in it.

"JEWEL!" called the macaw named Blu, "JEEEWEEEL, WHERE ARE YOUUUU!?"

As he looked around, Blu's brown eyes were filled with unspeakable horror and awe. This was the exact same nightmarish disaster that tore Jewel, Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado and Gael from the Spix macaw tribe, Ruby from the red macaw tribe, Esmeralda from the green tribe, Orquidea from the blue-and-gold macaw tribe, Sapphire from the Lear's macaw tribe, Cobalto from his clan and Ultramarine from her clan the Navyfeathers, and killed some of the other members from those bird tribes and clans. Blu had never experienced a forest fire before, but he knew that fire could cause a lot of devastation, be it buildings in a city or town, or a natural environment like the Amazon forest. However, Blu snapped himself out of his horrified trance of the inferno and focused on finding his love.

"JEWEL," he called, looking this way and that and checking every nook and cranny in the ground to see if Jewel was anywhere to be found in these spots, "JEEWEEEL!"

As Blu flew along, he suddenly found himself ascending from the forest floor and towards the canopy. At this, Blu looked up and around and found that he was being pulled upward by a draft of air caused by the fire. Crying in shock, Blu folded his wings and began to descend towards the forest floor. The draft of air was caused by an air current resulting from crown fire, the burning of the treetops. The fire would heat the surrounding air, causing it to rise, 'pulling' more air into the emptied space and repeating the process. A draft like this could drag a bird upward towards the crown fire, and was one of the hazards of flying through a burning forest. However, that was not the most lethal of hazards. Blu then heard a loud crack of wood directly above him. At this, he looked up and saw a burning branch about to fall. Blu, at this, flapped forward just as a loud snap was heard. The branch then careened down towards the floor, passing where Blu had been seconds ago and then crashing to the ground. Blu spun around as he heard that sound and when he looked at the fallen branch, he gasped.

"Is it any wonder so many birds or other animals die in a disaster like this," said Blu to himself. He then began to regret making this decision in looking for Jewel as he examined his burning surroundings and considered abandoning the search for Jewel and getting to safety. However, Blu was compelled to continue the search, regardless of the risk to his life, since Jewel was the macaw he loved more than any other. 'I've fallen out of the plane after her despite not being able to fly,' he thought, 'if I have done that, I can search for her in the fire.'

Propelled by reignited courage, Blu continued flying through the inferno looking for his beloved mate and calling her name, despite the smoke choking his lungs. Elsewhere, Tornado and Zephyr were also flying through the flames, avoiding the burning vegetation and narrowly escaping a small avalanche of burning branches at one time. Zephyr was clearly flooded with an immense fear as his green eyes examined the burning surroundings. Memories of when he, Brisa, Tornado and Gael's last encounter with fire swamped his mind and Tornado also had that same flood of memories washing over him. When Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado and Gael were torn from the Spix macaw tribe when Zephyr and Brisa had been young macaws, the brother and sister, as well as their parents had been badly traumatised and had developed an intense fear of fire. So much like Blu, Zephyr wanted to abandon the search and get to safety, and Tornado was insisting on this. However, despite his intense fear of the flames, Zephyr, much like Blu, was propelled to continue the search for his beloved mate and not allow her to perish in the fire. However, it was proving to be very difficult due to being swamped by both his fear of fire and the memories of the nightmarish experience Zephyr had with his family when he and Brisa were younger. Tornado flew closely behind him as he looked around, calling Venus's name and looking for her. Suddenly, Tornado saw a burning tree start to fall toward where they were.

"Zephyr, look OUT!" he cried and with that, he rocketed towards his son and tackled him out of the way, moments before the enormously tall plant toppled over, landing with an almighty crash. Zephyr, at this, cried in surprise as he was thrown clear until he looked back and saw the fallen tree and Tornado, who was breathing heavily in relief, behind him. Tornado then gave Zephyr a stern look.

"This is seriously too dangerous, son," he called, "Not only is this inferno bringing back horrid memories, but it is threatening our lives as well."

"I am NOT abandoning the search, Dad," snapped Zephyr, still fuelled by determination to find Venus, "I will NOT stop until I find her!"

"No, I am NOT going to risk losing MY SON like what happened last time with the smugglers!" retorted Tornado angrily, "You and Brisa were lucky to be alive last time. This time, you might not be so fortunate. Let's find somewhere to take shelter until this inferno dies down!"

Zephyr, at this, continued glaring at his father, pondering whether he should obey him or continue the search for Venus. As thoughts of Venus being trapped or what's worse, found dead, burned by the fire, swamped his mind, Zephyr opened his wings and rocketed onward through the flames, shouting Venus's name over and over again despite the choking smoke. Tornado rushed after him.

"Zephyr, get BACK HERE!" he yelled. Meanwhile, Blu was still searching for Jewel, calling her name and looking under every hole in the ground and rock he could find. Blu continued to cough out the toxic chemicals in the smoke from his lungs and avoid touching the burning plants. Blu continued shouting Jewel's name and listened to see if he could hear her voice of response, but to his dismay, he could not hear it through the roar of the flames. However, Blu did not give up. He knew he had to find Jewel or else not only would his heart be torn in two, but if the Spix macaw tribe, especially Eduardo, Mimi, Carla, Bia, Tiago, Roberto, Zephyr, Brisa and the rest of Jewel's closest friends, hear that Jewel was nowhere to be seen, they'd be overshadowed by a very dark cloud of heartbreak like last time when Jewel had been reported missing. The thoughts of seeing Eduardo break down, Carla, Bia and Tiago losing their mother, and himself becoming a widower flooded and churned Blu's mind like the choppy waters of the Amazon River, and made his heart lurch like a stomach in response to the repulsive smell of a decaying carcass. As these thoughts churned in his head, Blu was propelled to continue his search for Jewel and not give up, no matter what. Blu continued searching the burning vegetation and shouting Jewel's name, listening for any response. He continued shouting Jewel's name over and over again and listening for another tense half an hour, and just as he could had all but given up, a distant sound, low but hearable, emitted through the roaring noise of the fire. Blu picked up the sound with his ears and cupped a wing to listen, hoping he wasn't hearing things. It sounded again and as Blu heard it, he jumped into the air, hope that Jewel was alive flaring up like the fire around him. With this inside him, Blu took off and began to trace the sound to its source.

"JEWEL!" he called at the top of his voice, flying as fast as he could through the fire. As he traced its source, it became louder and louder. Suddenly, a few falling fireballs dropped from a tree above, almost landing on Blu. Blu cried in surprise and dodged the falling volcanic rock-like bombs before continuing to follow the sound. As the sound grew louder, it was clear that it was female, and it sounded anguished and extremely frightened.

"JEEWEEEL!" shouted Blu again, looking around and dodging more flames.

"BLUUUUU!" yelled the voice, which Blu recognised was Jewel's. Propelled by hope and relief, he continued tracing Jewel's voice as it continued to grow louder and louder until finally, a cerulean feathered form with teal eyes hiding in an animal's burrow. Blu had never been so relieved in his life and immediately accelerated towards the burrow.

"JEWEL!" shouted Blu but as he approached Jewel in the burrow, it was clear that she was extremely scared. Her eyes were wider than Blu had ever seen, her cerulean feathers were on end and she was trembling like a human food called jelly. However, when Jewel saw Blu fly towards her, she immediately screamed in relief and went over to hug him. The moment Blu touched down at the entrance to the burrow, he was met by a bone-crushing hug from his mate. The two Spix macaws remained in their embrace for a few seconds before they finally broke it.

"What happened?" asked Blu, "How did you end up going missing when searching for us?"

Jewel, however, was too afraid to reply. The fire was clearly terrifying her and she was trembling violently. Then a loud crack, the sound of cracking wood, was heard. At this, Blu located the sound and saw that a flaming tree's trunk was forming a kink on one side of the burrow. It looked unstable and was about to fall any moment, and it was leaning toward the direction of the burrow's entrance. Seeing that they have to escape or they would be trapped, Blu said, "Jewel, can you fly?"

Jewel, who continued trembling violently, shook her head. She was too swamped with fear to give a worded answer and all her muscles, including her flight muscles, were like jelly. Blu, at this, immediately took off, wrapped his talons around Jewel's wings like how he did after taking his first flight, and lifted off the ground.

"I'm going to carry you to a safe spot," called Blu. Jewel nodded and with that, Blu immediately rocketed out of the burrow and back into the inferno. The moment he did that, Jewel began to cry hysterically and shut her eyes, too afraid to look at the flames. It seemed that the previous fire had had a more massive impact on Jewel than it did on Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado and Gael. However, Jewel had been alone when she was torn from her tribe, whilst Zephyr and his sister and parents had each other. Thus the trauma of the previous fire was greater in Jewel than in Zephyr or Brisa or their parents. Blu then began to try his best to look for a suitable spot to take refuge from the fire. A clearing or a small cave should do. With the violently trembling and crying Jewel in his talons, Blu began to desperately look for one of those refuge points, being careful to avoid flying into a burning tree, web of vines, a draft caused by crown fire, or falling flaming branches. A few minutes into his search for shelter for himself and Jewel, it happens. A cluster of flaming bombs fell from the above canopy and crashed onto the forest floor, a metre away from Blu and Jewel. When Jewel saw this, she screamed at the top of her lungs, while Blu cried in surprise before continuing his search for shelter.

"There has to be a small cave SOMEWHERE!" muttered Blu to himself. He looked this way and that as he continued flying through the inferno for another few more terrifying minutes until he saw what looked like a clearing through a ring of burning trees. Looking at Jewel who continued violently cowering and whimpering, Blu made a break for the ring of fire.

"HANG ON!" cried Blu to Jewel and he approached the fire ring. Jewel did so and both Spix macaws rushed through the ring of fire, seconds before burning branches fell and sealed off the exit. Blku then looked around and realised that he was in a small break in the trees. It appeared to be an empty patch where no trees or large ferns grew but on the edge of the clearing, plants continued to burn. Blu, coughing from the smoke, looked around and found another hole in the ground. This was surrounded by pebbles but appeared large enough to be a shelter. Seeing no other choice and not wanting to fly back into the inferno again, Blu took Jewel to the hole and gently placed her inside. He then entered it himself. The inside was rocky and had soft soil in places but it would have to do. as soon as both macaws were inside, Blu wrapped his wings around Jewel and began to try and comfort and calm her down. Both macaws were coughing from the smoke.

"It's okay, now Jewel," said Blu as Jewel continued sobbing and crying hysterically, "We're out of the fire now."

As Jewel then began to cry into his chest, Blu looked out of the burrow and watched the burning forest surrounding the clearing in utter horror. He hoped that the other macaws had taken shelter in their evacuation points, and that Venus had been found. However, that was yet to happen. Zephyr continued flying through the flames, shouting Venus's name and looking around with Tornado in hot pursuit. Tornado dodged a web of burning vines and continued chasing his son, yelling at him to break off the search and seek shelter for it was too dangerous. During their search, the two male Spix macaws passed by some frightened chirping. This immediately caught Zephyr's attention as he had hoped it was Venus but when he traced the source of the sound, he realised that they were emitting from a group of six frightened chicks and an adolescent macaw standing right beside a fallen tree. At this, Zephyr flew over to the seven petrified macaws with Tornado right behind him. As Zephyr and Tornado touched down by the seven young macaws, Zephyr realised that the macaws had the same features as Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor. However, they appeared not only petrified by the fire, but also anguished over something.

"These are young glaucous macaw chicks," said Tornado in surprise, "And they appear lost and frightened."

Zephyr then quickly asked the adolescent glaucous macaw. "Do you know where your parents and the parents of these chicks are?"

The adolescent glaucous macaw, at this, shook his head and pointed to the fallen tree, tears falling from his eyes. At this, Zephyr followed the macaw's point, he gasped. Tornado came in and also drew in a sharp, horrified gasp. From under the log, a turquoise wing was protruding, indicating that the tree must have fallen on an adult glaucous macaw. Flinching at the sight, Zephyr looked at the adolescent macaw and the six young chicks who were too frightened and upset to reply.

"We'd better get these chicks to safety," said Tornado.

"But what about Venus?" protested Zephyr. Tornado gave him a stern eye.

"It's too dangerous," he said, "We need to find shelter and get these young macaws to safety. We'll search for Venus after the fire dies down."

Zephyr, at this, began to cry in anguish. It was true. The fire was becoming too dangerous to continue the search for Venus so Zephyr reluctantly obeyed his dad and letting him take the lead. Then Tornado turned to the chicks and adolescent macaw and said, "Can you lot fly? We need to get out of here now."

To his relief, all seven young glaucous macaws nodded and opened their wings. Then suddenly, a crack was heard above the group. At this, Tornado looked up and saw a cluster of fiery branches careen from the above canopy, aiming for them.

"Look OUT!" he yelled and immediately scooped up all the seven young glaucous macaws as they screamed. Then Tornado and Zephyr jumped out of the way as an almighty crash sounded- right where they had been standing. Charred pieces of wood and singed feathers then rained down on the group. Seeing that they shouldn't be here for another minute longer, Tornado picked up the chicks and lofted them into the air, before following himself alongside Zephyr. Soon, the nine macaws were flying through the fiery forest once again, trees and ferns burning all around them. The chicks and adolescent macaw screamed as their eyes saw the fire all around them. Zephyr then looked at the six chicks. They looked around Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's age as their features were clearly visible. One of them was a female, had lilac eyes, dark ocean blue body feathers and a set of feathers similar to Roberto's. Much like Lapis Lazuli's feathers, the head feathers started out grey but faded to turquoise towards the tips. However, he didn't have time to examine the chicks' features. The group had to head to safety, and quick. With Tornado leading the way and Zephyr keeping an eye on the seven young glaucous macaws, the nine continued flying through the fiery forest. Once or twice they avoided an updraft caused by crown fire drawing air skywards towards the treetops, and Zephyr had to pull the chicks out of the draft for they were too weak to fly out of the updraft themselves, and the group had witnessed another cluster of flaming branches crash to the floor from the above canopy. Then after another long and perilous while of flying through more flaming trees, they finally came across a small cave by a narrowed stream, shrunken through loss of so much water due to the heat caused by the drought, and several fish carcases dotted the areas of dried mud, areas that were normally below the waterline when the stream was at its normal level. The cave would have to do. Tornado then led Zephyr and the seven glaucous macaw youngsters to this spot where the touched down and took shelter, the chicks and adolescent glaucous macaws whimpering and trembling violently. Zephyr then looked out and began to cry for Venus but Tornado wouldn't let him fly out. Tornado felt sorry for his son. He knew how it felt to be trapped in an inferno like this and he hoped that Venus had found shelter or had escaped the fire into a clearing to take refuge until the fire died down. As thoughts about his daughter-in-law swamped his mind, Tornado turned to trying to calm down the terrified glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent while at the same time hug his sobbing son.

The fire continued raging and tearing through more of the jungle, spreading quickly onto the very dry adjacent trees as though they were sprayed with a flammable liquid like petrol. Animals continued fleeing the inferno with monkeys darting through the trees and birds flying though the gaps. More glaucous macaws had managed to find and take refuge in the evacuation points of the bird tribes and clans on the sanctuary, a number have entered the Spix macaws' ravine and had taken refuge behind the waterfall with the Spix macaw tribe, much to their surprise, especially Pluto, Travis, Mercury and their families. However, they allowed the macaws to take refuge with them anyway. Among the glaucous macaws were Rudi, Valeria and their two sons Alberto and Lorenzo, whom they had been carrying all along through the fire. They landed into a moss bed next to Roberto, Brisa, Carla, Bia and Tiago. Lapis Lazuli had flown over to help her distressed and terrified cousin to settle in. in the blue-throated and Bluewing clans' territory, all the hyacinth and blue-throated macaws had managed to evacuate to their island and the Navyfeathers to their cave. Non-tribe and clan residents had also flown out to escape the fire, and Falkor, Fedor and Ámbar had become busy with taking in the non-clan residents of the Navyfeathers' territory into their cave. However, a number of birds and other animals were still in serious danger of being trapped in the fire and burned, including a Spix macaw who had only just joined the Spix tribe some days ago. Venus was still flying through the inferno, trying to find a way out into an opening. She had been searching for shelter from the flames but had found none, and all the burrows had burning trees too close to them. Venus daren't take refuge in these for she felt that she would end up trapped in the burrows should a burning tree fall and block off their entrance, or they could contain the most dangerous land predator in the rainforest: jaguars. Once, Venus had got a glimpse of a mother jaguar cowering in her burrow with three cubs. The jaguar had her body curled around her cubs to protect them from the fire as they cowered into her fur, squeaking in fear. Venus had got a glimpse of the jaguar's piercing golden eyes which were swamped with fear as they continued watching the terrifying fire. Venus hoped that this family of jaguars would not die in the fire for Blu had once told her that like most big cats, jaguars were an endangered species. Tearing her gaze from the mother and her three cubs, she rocketed on, coughing and spluttering to clear her lungs of smoke. She was clearly desperate to get out of this blazing nightmare, and as Venus thought this, she began to understand what Jewel must have gone through after she had been torn from the Spix tribe in the previous fire. Putting these thoughts aside, Venus continued concentrating on escaping. She quickly but carefully avoided touching any of the burning plants or any cinders and ashes that were spat from the burning wood. If any of these still-burning bits of debris hit Venus's wing flight feathers and burned them, she would not be able to fly and be at even greater risk of being killed in the inferno. Venus continued scanning the burning environment for a clearing through the trees.

"There has to be a way out," she said to herself, wracked with fear, "There HAS to be!"

Venus continued flying more through the fiery environment, choking from the smoke and avoiding any updrafts of air rising skywards towards the treetops, until she saw what appeared to be black hole through some burning trees. Seeing this, Venus made a beeline for it, hoping it led out into a clearing. However, as Venus rocketed towards the hole, she got a glimpse of burning branches falling from the above canopy, aiming for the spot in front of the hole. At this, Venus accelerated more and as she neared the hole, she folded her wings and ploughed through the opening, barely escaping being buried alive by the burning missiles. They landed behind her with a crash and sealed off the opening entirely, but Venus had made it through the hole in the nick of time. As soon as she was through, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. Venus was definitely in a large clearing and below her was an enormous gash in the ground. Based on its size, it appeared to be the Amazon River, but Venus could see that the waterline had shrunken considerably. Large areas of the river's banks were exposed and fish that did not escape the receding water in time lay dead along the banks. The water itself was quite shallow, but it was still flowing. It was bright orange as it reflected the flames of the fire burning along the bank. Venus then looked at the trees on the other side and saw that they weren't on fire. The Amazon River must be acting like a barrier against the fire, stopping it from spreading to these trees, but the trees along the other side of the river were ablaze. Venus scanned the burning trees in utter horror, finding the terrifying sight hard to believe. She then began to look for an island in the Amazon River to settle on and wait until the fire died down.

A little while later, back with the Spix macaws, the tribe of cerulean and blue birds with blue-white facial markings, with their guests including Pluto, Travis, Mercury and their families, watched in utter horror as they saw the orange glow of fire through the shrunken waterfall. The trees of the Spix macaws were on fire and the ravine pool, also shrunken by the heat of the drought, was bright orange as the water reflected the flames. Roberto, Brisa, Carla, Bia and Tiago wore looks of terror and fright as thoughts about Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Tornado and Venus whop were still out there, swamped their minds. Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, Lapis Lazuli, Pluto, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy, and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also had dreaded and frightened looks as they watched the fire through the waterfall. They had heard that five of the Spix macaws including Venus were still out there. Mercury, Travis, Sunset and Pluto had been devastated by the news. Venus was one of their lifelong friends and to hear that she had gone missing in the fire along with her mate Zephyr had hit them hard. However, the macaw that was most devastated was Eduardo. He lay limp on his back by the wall of the cave, having fainted from the overwhelming grief and guilt of forgetting about the stargazing group in his rush to warn the Spix macaw tribe after three of Alonso's macaws came to warn him and Mimi, and the fact that Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Venus and Tornado were out there. Mimi stood by; her face filled with dread, horror and worry for her niece and nephew-in-law, and also for the other three. A million thoughts raced through her head: either those five Spix macaws were lost, or were dead. Mimi dreaded finding Jewel, dead and burned amongst the charred trees and ferns, and crying over her dead body. She also dreaded Eduardo doing the same, and also over the bodies of Blu, Venus, Zephyr and Tornado. Finding those five dead after the fire would bring heartbreak and devastation to the whole tribe, particularly Venus and Zephyr's family and friends. Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil could become orphans, as would Carla, Bia and Tiago. Brisa would lose her beloved brother and father, and Gael would become a widow with Viento losing his brother and nephew, and Nuvem his uncle and cousin, and Roberto would be torn to lose his best friend and her mate. It would be like what happened in the previous fire: a serious chain reaction for the whole tribe, but this time, the other macaws outside the Spix macaw tribe, such as Ruby and Jupiter who were friends of Venus, Zephyr, Blu and Jewel, would be involved. They would be greatly heartbroken if they hear that these four had perished. Mercury, Sapphire, Travis, Sunset, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli also had dreaded looks about facing this possibility once the fire had died down. While the Spix macaws, Mercury and Travis and their families had these thoughts whirling around their heads, the other glaucous macaws also looked frightened. Rudi and Valeria who sat by Roberto and Brisa and Blu and Jewel's chicks wore dreaded facial expressions about the other members of the glaucous macaw tribe. The glaucous macaws were scattered throughout the sanctuary, some hiding in the Spix macaws' waterfall cave, some hiding with the Lear's macaws, and still some more hiding with the green macaws and the blue-and-gold macaws. However, there was nothing that the macaws could do until the fire died down.

 **Meanwhile**

In Rio de Janeiro, Susan, Lucy, Dash and Ginger and their puppies Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny and Veggie and Catina and their kittens Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas watched the TV in utter horror as the news about the forest fire continued being broadcasted throughout Brazil. Their eyes were wide with shock and horror.

"This could be the worst fire in history," said the news lady, "The fire has spread throughout the majority of the Sanctuary de Amazon, consuming the areas including where the green, the Lear's and the Spix macaw flocks have recently been found…"

"NOOO!" cried Veggie in disbelief. The TV then showed the large area of the rainforest ablaze in a sea of orange ever-changing shapes and thick black billows of smoke belching from their tips into the air.

"…The Ecological Fire service in their water carrying planes from Manaus are trying their best to put out the fire by carrying water to the site and spraying on it from above but the fire just keeps on spreading and spreading," continued the news lady, "due to the immense dryness of the plants…"

"Plant dryness," repeated Catina, "That's often known to make fires spread really easily."

"It's not surprising really," said Ginger, "It's been so hot over the past few days and the heat would have made those plants lose so much water…"

"I hope the macaws are alright," said Dash hopefully as he thought about Mercury, Venus and their rest including Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa who had ventured out into the Amazon rainforest, "and all the other animals that inhabit that jungle…"

Then Lucy began to pray to God that the macaws would survive the fire. At Tulio, Linda and Fernando's house, Tulio, his wife and adopted son were also watching the news in utter horror. Linda had thoughts of her former animal companion, Blu and his family out there while Tulio's mind was swamped with thoughts for the birds on the Sanctuary de Amazon, especially the Lear's and the Spix macaws, and the glaucous macaws that were still yet to be discovered. However, there was nothing Tulio and his team could do until the fire died down, but they will be going out there to help the injured animals…

 **Meanwhile**

Back in the burning rainforest, the fire continued raging. By now the majority of animals would have managed to find somewhere safe to take refuge, but some had not been so fortunate and had been caught in the flames. Amongst the roar of the fire, cries of anguished monkeys, capybaras and flightless birds sounded as they were trapped and burned by the fire. Up in the sky, human-made flying machines were buzzing overhead. A large cloud of water was released from their undersides and dropped onto the fire. The Ecological Fire Service team from Manaus had come along to try and help put the fire out. However, it was proving to be a difficult task for the fire had covered a wide area of rainforest and it was spreading fast due to the dryness of the plants. While the humans in the air tried their best to put out the flames from the sky, on a large island in the middle of the shrunken Amazon River, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians have managed to escape the inferno and take refuge. This island had leafless trees on it and a few bushes. Holes, clumps of grass and rocks dotted it as well, making it an ideal refuge point for various creatures. Various species of flying birds flew over the water and landed on the bare skeletons of the leafless trees while mammals such as capybaras and monkeys, and reptiles such as lizards and snakes, swam in the water and crept onto the shore of the island. Many of the mammals had babies which they carried across whilst some of the birds carried their chicks and eggs. Amphibians such as poison dart frogs dotted parts of exposed rocks protruding from the dropped water of the Amazon River. While the animals on the island, many accompanied by young, waited for the fire burning the forest to die down on the mainland, one bright blue macaw with pigtails stood amongst the small birds perched on one of the leafless trees. Venus had also managed to find this island and had taken refuge on it with the other animals. However, the whole experience of flying through the inferno had left Venus badly shaken and traumatised. She was extremely upset and frightened, and had absolutely no idea of where she was. As she trembled all over on the tree branch with the small birds preening and caring for their young, if they had any, Venus began to cry floods of tears. She began to feel like how Jewel would have felt as she was torn from the Spix macaw tribe by the previous fire: lost, alone and frightened. Thoughts of Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Brisa, parents-in-law Tornado and Gael, and then of Jupiter, Ruby, Mercury, Sapphire, Mars, Chiquitita, Saturn, Orquidea, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Ceres, Cobalto, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, and Travis, Sunset and all their chicks flooded her mind, alongside Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago. Through her river of tears, Venus stole a glance at some of the birds, larger species which appeared to be parakeets and amazons, comfort their shaken mates and chicks. Venus felt heartbreak flare within her as she wished she was with her mate Zephyr and her four chicks. With her eyes on these bird families and then on the fire, Venus broke down. However, in her heartbreak, she did not notice that the sky overhead, which had been swamped with a sea of stars, had now become swamped with clouds that screened the stars from view. A rumbling sound emanated from these clouds, followed by a few drops of water that landed on a few places on the island, including on Venus's head as she continued crying her heart out.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28- the aftermath of the fire**

The fire had spread considerably across the Amazon rainforest, even reaching as far as the territory of the Amazon birds' worst enemy, the dreaded and infamous flying fox colony. Almost all the area of the green and Lear's macaw tribes' territories, and a very large part of the blue-and-gold, Spix and red macaw tribes' territories, and a smaller part of the blue-throated and Bluewing hyacinth clans' and the Navyfeather Clan's territories had been up in flames. However, the fire's rage was soon to be calmed. Hours after the fire had started, drops of water from the skies above had begun to fall, first in small trickles and then in larger amounts, until finally, a full torrent of downpour was reached. The rains had come much to the relief of everyone as the thunderstorm had marked the end of the drought and had arrived to replenish the extremely thirsty rainforest of its desperately needed water. As the rains fell onto the parched forest, shrunken rivers and streams and the raging fire, the fire had begun to shrink and die down. The moment the rains had been noticed, ornithologists from both Rio and Manaus, among them Tulio and his team, had been called to get ready to go to the Amazon and help the injured animals as soon as it was safe to do so. While the humans were up to this, the macaws in their evacuation points and all the other animals in their shelters and refuge points had begun to cautiously emerge to examine the status of the fire. In the Spix macaws' ravine, the Spix macaws prepared to emerge from their waterfall cave. Search groups had been set up by Eduardo's inner circle birds and Mimi for Eduardo was still too swamped with guilt and upset over forgetting the stargazing group and the news of Jewel, Blu, Zephyr, Tornado and Venus's disappearance. Roberto and Brisa had opted to go out and search for the lost macaws while Mercury and Sapphire had been entrusted with looking after Carla, Bia and Tiago while they were absent. The three siblings and offspring of Blu and Jewel stayed in the moss bed with Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. While Mimi continued organising the search groups, Rudi was doing the same with the glaucous macaws that had taken refuge with the Spix macaws. Lapis Lazuli looked on with Pluto, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, a frown on her face. Nearby, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa began to help some of the Spix macaws prepare to carry their eggs and chicks to outside. Then Maximillian, one of the sentry macaws and Turquesa's father, flew in to give a report of the fire to Mimi. He had been sent out to examine the fire.

"The fire's much smaller than it had been, Mimi," he said, shaking his head of rainwater for he had got wet from flying in the rain, "However, there are still small patches of flames and it is raining heavily. We must be careful of any unstable trees and those small fire patches."

"Alright, thanks, Max," said Mimi. Roberto breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead to shift some of his head feathers out of his face.

"At least the fire's rage has been quenched," he said as Maximillian left to return to Turquesa.

"Yeah," said Brisa in agreement. She then stole a glance from Gael, Viento and Nuvem as they comforted the frightened macaws who had been with the stargazing group, among them Justin and his siblings. "The fire certainly has taken that lot by surprise."

"It took us all by surprise in fact," said Roberto, "When Eduardo and Mimi called us to evacuate behind the waterfall cave as the fire was coming, I almost fell out of the tree."

As he said this, a glaucous macaw came by.

"We were the ones who were taken by surprise by that raging inferno first," he muttered, "Everything was sent flying into chaos."

The macaw then continued towards the waterfall cave's mouth, a female macaw and two chicks behind him. Brisa looked on in surprise.

"I hope there are other glaucous macaws besides these ones that have taken refuge with us that had escaped the fire too," she said. Roberto, a seriously surprised look marking his face, nodded in agreement. Nearby Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo prepared to make their way toward the waterfall cave too as Spix and glaucous macaws shifted around.

"What a nightmare this has been," muttered Travis, shaken from the whole ordeal, "Good job we were in the ravine and not out there."

"Yeah, but Zephyr, Tornado, Venus, Blu and Jewel are still out there," said Sunset. She then stole a glance at the saddened Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, and Gael, Nuvem and Viento. "If either Zephyr or Venus or what's worse, both of them are found dead, those four are gonna be orphans."

"So would Carla, Bia and Tiago regarding Blu and Jewel's fate," said Travis, a nod to Blu and Jewel's three under Mercury and Sapphire's care. Sunset nodded in agreement. Then the cockatoo family began to make their way toward the waterfall cave to survey the damage the fire had caused with some of the Spix and glaucous macaws. Nearby, Lapis Lazuli and her family were with Rudi as he continued organising a search group from the tribe members that had flown into this cave.

"So you decided to abandon your 'home' after all," she growled. Rudi, a shaken and sad look on his face, just gave his cousin a sad stare.

"Lapis Lazuli," said Pluto gently. Lapis Lazuli then reluctantly left Rudi to continue his task and followed her mate and four chicks.

"This disaster is going to inflict a deep scar on my cousin and cousin-in-law for life," muttered Lapis Lazuli as she crept by a crowd of Spix macaws.

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Pluto as he scanned the sea of cerulean, picking out the dots of grey heads with yellow facial features amongst the blue-white faced macaws, "I don't Rudi would be taking his tribe back to where they were staying now after this."

"They need a proper living space," said Lapis Lazuli. It was then that Charon's voice sounded.

"Mom, Dad, you need to take a look at this," shouted Charon.

"The Spix macaws' trees," added Blueberry. At this, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli looked up and saw their four chicks gesture to the outside past the waterfall. They went over and stood on the rock outside the lip of the cave's mouth. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa and several other macaws including Roberto and Brisa also came along and the moment their eyes landed on the Spix macaws' trees, beaks dropped open and gasps were drawn in when they saw what the fire had done. Travis and Sunset's crests were also raised as they examined the devastation caused by the fire. Through the rains, the macaws and cockatoos could see the outline of the trees the Spix macaws called home. All the trees were reduced to a blackened and smoking mess and there wasn't a flash of green on any of them. Spots of fire still continued to burn here and there and smoke continued to lazily rise from their tips. It was practically like a disaster zone, every tree and fern incinerated and reduced to a blackened skeletal structure. Ashes and burned wood lay scattered all over the soft soiled ground, smoking and with specks of orange glowing on them.

"This reminds me of what happened to London's buildings after the Great Fire," murmured Travis in dreaded awe.

"All the trees have been burned," murmured Eustace.

"The other macaw tribes and clans' home trees will be looking like this," murmured Sunset as she thought about the other macaw tribes and clans. Then Roberto's patrol group began to prepare to fly through the rain and blackened disaster zone to begin their search for the missing macaws, alongside the glaucous macaw searchers.

"This is what our home looked like in the previous fire", Roberto whispered to Travis and his family, "All the trees had been burned to this mess."

"You'd better go and search for Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Tornado and Venus," said Travis. Nearby, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli with their four chicks nodded in agreement. Then Roberto's group opened their wings and took off, heading for the ravine opening. In the other macaw tribes and clans' territories, the other macaw flocks were also beginning to emerge from their evacuation points to survey the damage caused by the fire. Valentino and his tribe, along with the glaucous macaws that had taken refuge with them, came out of their underground cavern to see the blackened cliff faces where many of the Lear's macaws made their homes alongside burned down trees, Alonso and his tribe and their glaucous macaw guests also came out of their cave to see their home trees burned to blackened structures without any green on them. Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon were especially horrified. In the blue-and-gold tribe's home, Soleado and his tribe and their glaucous macaw guests also emerged from the mouth leading to their underground cavern to survey the damage. Their home trees were also reduced to a blackened mess, and Saturn, who flew alongside Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, had never seen so much destruction to a natural environment in his life. The Navyfeathers also came out of their cave to survey the damage to their home. However, it appeared that they had been more fortunate. The fire had only spread through a fraction of their territory before the rains came in, but while Flavio and the other hyacinth macaws were relieved that the trees of their home patch were still intact and undamaged, they were horrified to see the sea of blackened trees where the fire had been raging. Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton were especially horrified. In the red tribe's home, Felipe and his tribe also emerged from their cave to see that most of their home trees had been reduced to a serious mess as well. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre were in a horrified awe. As for the blue-throated clan and Bluewing hyacinth Clan's home, like the Navyfeathers, only part of their territory had been ablaze. Demetrio, Violeta, Reynaldo, Anita and their clans, among them Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul, had seen that their home trees had been spared, but when they came to where the fire had spread, they were struck with horror to see a sea of blackened trees as far as the eye could see and the disaster zone extended into the flying foxes' territory. This indicated that the fire had spread into the bats' space as well but the rains had come and stopped it spreading any further. However, Demetrio and Reynaldo assumed that some of the flying foxes had likely been injured or trapped by the fire as well. They daren't go over there and investigate because if any bird was found on the flying foxes' turf, they were killed right away. Throughout the affected areas, other animals and birds were also horrified to see the devastation the fire had caused. It truly was a disturbing revelation for the inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest.

As the rains continued pelting down and the fire continued reducing to nothing more than patches of flames, Blu and Jewel, who had been hiding in a small cave beside a shrunken stream, cautiously crept out. Jewel had been cowering against Blu's side the whole time but now that the fire had died down, she was calmer but still traumatised from the whole ordeal. As Blu looked out and examined the surroundings, horror smacked into him. He had never seen so much destruction in his entire life. All the tree trunks had turned into blackened pillars while the undergrowth, the ferns and shrubs, had been stripped of their greenery to nothing more than blackened skeletal structures. Blu then shuddered as he remembered reading about how destructive fire could be, especially if it got out of control or ended up in the wrong hands, and had read stories of cities and bush areas being reduced to a blackened disaster zone in some of the books he read while he lived in Moose Lake, Minnesota with his former owner Linda. However, Blu knew that he and Jewel had to find the Spix macaw tribe now that the fire was less angry. Turning to Jewel, who was still shaking, he said, "Jewel, are you ready?"

Jewel, still swamped with fear from the fire, nodded. However, her teal eyes were still swarming with terror for there were still patches of fire alight.

"Don't worry, the fire's died down," said Blu, "And I'm right with you, and will be throughout the way until we find our tribe."

Jewel, at this, was comforted by Blu's words and prepared to leave the small cave. Blu then smiled and prepared to lead the way when suddenly, they heard a familiar voice.

"Wait, aren't you Eddie's son-in-law?" it said.

"And that must be Eduardo's daughter," said another voice, a female. At this, Blu looked around until his eyes landed on some red feathered figures with yellow or green, and blue or teal wings. One of them had green eyes while another had light blue. At this, Blu jumped back in shock but when he saw a tall, burly vermillion macaw standing on the green-eyed macaw's left, he breathed a sigh of relief. It were only Felipe, Pearl and some of their macaws including Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre and they looked surprised. Then finally, Blu spoke after overcoming his shyness.

"I'm sorry," he timidly apologised, "Is- is this… your territory?"

"It is," said Pearl, the blue-eyed macaw, "This is red macaw territory."

Blu then began to mutter as he felt silly. At time he crossed into Felipe's side, he had unintentionally whipped up a war between them and the Spix tribe for the whole Brazil nut grove. However, unlike last time, Felipe looked more sympathetic. He did not mind Spix macaws or any of the other macaws from the other tribes and clans visiting his territory now.

"Sorry," said Blu, "We got a bit lost in the fire so we took refuge here. It had been too dangerous to continue flying through the inferno."

He then changed the subject. "By the way, how are you lot doing?"

"Oh, shaken," muttered Pearl timidly, "The fire has damaged a large part of our territory and we're dreading what damage the fire has caused the territories of the other tribes and clans including yours. It's been terrible honestly…"

"At least Jupiter and his four chicks have made it back to your tribe safely," said Blu when he saw Jupiter with his family. Then Ruby who stood by Jupiter's side saw Jewel trembling violently.

"And it looks like Jewel's had a nasty ordeal throughout the whole thing," she said sympathetically, "She needs to be taken back to your tribe and quick or Eduardo will be worried."

Blu looked at Jewel. "I agree," he said. Jewel then timidly emerged from the small cave and joined her mate's side, breathing rapidly and quivering. Then Chiquitita came forward.

"That's exactly how I feel," she said, "Seeing the flames. It brought back hideous memories of when Ruby and I were torn from the red tribe."

Blu sighed and felt it was time to leave.

"I'd better go, anyway," he said, "Eduardo will be worried for us and I don't want him to break down…"

"Would you like one of us to escort you?" asked Felipe, "I'm setting up a patrol group to take Alonso and Valentino's patrollers, the ones that delivered us the fire warning, back to their tribes. They had been taking refuge with us throughout the fire…"

Blu nodded with a smile. Then Mars opted to be the escort.

"I'll take the couple back," he said, "I'm sure Eduardo wouldn't mind a green-winged macaw flying into his territory…"

"Okay, be careful, Mars," said Chiquitita and with that, she gave him a kiss. Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre also hugged their father and then Blu. Jupiter also shook Mars's wing.

"You watch yourself out there, Mars," he said firmly, "There could be some unstable trees around here."

"Not to mention charred Brazil nuts as the Brazil nut grove would have been on fire as well," said Ruby.

"Absolutely," said Felipe, "Even though those fruits have been burned, they could still be heavy enough to kill us if they fall on us, so make sure you're extremely careful when you're flying through that grove."

"Fly over any Brazil nut clusters if you can and be careful of the rain," said Pearl. Mars nodded. Then after hugging Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, he looked at Blu and Jewel who signalled that they were ready. And with that, the trio took off and flew off in the direction of the Spix tribe's territory. Jewel shuddered and whimpered as she saw the few clusters of flame still alive in certain parts of the forest. However, since it was raining heavily and some of the rain was falling through the canopy, those clusters will soon be extinguished. Jupiter looked up into the sky through a gap in the above canopy where some of the rain poured through.

"Well, at least the rains have come at last," he said, "And in time as well. I thought the fire was going to spread further due to how dehydrated the trees and plants have become from the drought."

"Those rains will replenish the water that had been lost from the lakes, streams, the Amazon River and the plants," said Pearl, "As always, heatwaves often precede storms."

"Let's send some patrol groups into our neighbours' territory," said Felipe, "and make sure they are alright as well and see if they need any casualties tending to."

Pearl nodded and the group of scarlet and green-winged macaws left. Chiquitita sighed as she took Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre away after the others, hoping that Mars would be very careful out there as he escorted Blu and Jewel back to their ravine.

 **Meanwhile**

Tornado, Zephyr and the seven young glaucous macaws they had found slowly and cautiously crept out of their refuge point and examined the surroundings. To their utter horror, every tree and fern had been reduced to blackened trunks and skeletal structures. There were still a few embers and small clusters of flame lazily burning in some areas but to Tornado and Zephyr's relief, drops of rain were falling through the canopy and they could hear the pattering of raindrops from above. The rains have come to end the drought at last. Then Zephyr was struck with thoughts about why they had come out here in the first place, to search for Venus.

"Dad, shall we continue to search for my mate now?" he asked Tornado as he looked over the shaken chicks, "It's not as dangerous now."

"We need to do something about these six chicks and the adolescent macaw first," said Tornado. Zephyr with an impatient gasp, walked over to his father.

"These are glaucous macaws like Pluto and his family," said Tornado, "And I believe they could be from the remaining glaucous macaws Eduardo and Blu told me they had found with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. We've got to get these birds to safety."

"Could there be any other glaucous macaws out there like them?" asked Zephyr, "not including Pluto and his family?"

Tornado replied with a silent 'I don't know' expression, but based on his look, Zephyr knew the seven glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent needed to be taken to somewhere safe. Tornado also wore a surprised look. Like many of the other macaws, he thought that the entre glaucous tribe had been slaughtered by those flying foxes but now, that assumption had been called into question upon seeing these chicks. Then Tornado had another thought.

"We need to examine our surroundings and see where we are," he said, "You look after these seven while I do that and gauge our location."

Zephyr obeyed and stayed by the six chicks and adolescents' side while Tornado took off from the refuge point and flew into the canopy. However, it was not an easy task for it was raining heavily, and Tornado did not want to hover for too long in the rain. Macaws could not fly very well with sodden feathers. As Tornado emerged from the canopy and into the treetops, he looked around. He was horrified to see that the trees had been stripped of their greenery and other colour. All they looked like were skeletal structures with flimsy remains of leaves that simply fell off the branches as though they were made of soft soil as the rain pelted them. Pulling his gaze off what the fire had done to the trees, Tornado looked around. Lightning flashed in the sky, briefly lighting up the surroundings in several split-second blinks. However, to his frustration, Tornado could not make heads or tails of where he and his son were for the trees looked too dark and unfamiliar to build a picture of their location. Giving up and not wanting to be in the rain for much longer, Tornado descended back through the canopy and towards the forest floor where it was more sheltered. As he touched down, Zephyr asked him.

"Anything?" he said. Tornado shook his head.

"I don't know where we are," he said, "It's just too dark and the rain is too heavy. We might have to wait until morning."

This was met with an irritated and frustrated sigh from Zephyr. He really wanted to find Venus and did not want to spend the rest of the night out here.

"I'm sorry, son," said Tornado sadly as Zephyr sat down against the wall of the little burrow, "but it's too dangerous. It's dark and it's wet and I don't want us, especially those glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent, catching a chill by flying through this deluge."

Zephyr did not reply and continued to sulk. He wore a scowl on his face, had his wings crossed and his head hanging down. Tornado uttered an irritated 'tut'. Zephyr can be a stubborn macaw to deal with at times but he knew he knew best. It was too dangerous to be flying through the rains, especially while it is dark. As a thunderclap was heard in the above sky and the forest was lit but several times by a flash of lightning, Tornado sighed and sat down. The six glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent male came up to him, sad looks on their faces. While they were grateful for Tornado and Zephyr for rescuing them from the fire, they were clearly lost. Tornado just looked back at them, a disappointed look on his face and sighed.

"I know you seven want to be reunited with your relatives and friends," he said, "But I can't risk us getting sopping wet and catching a chill, not to mention getting lost in the dark."

The chicks and adolescent moaned while Zephyr just sighed, not looking at his father or the chicks. Tears were beginning to fall from his face as he thought about Venus. He did not want to raise his six chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and alone. Chicks had been something Venus had wanted so greatly and Zephyr remembered the times in Rio when she had spent hours playing with Carla, Bia and Tiago, Blu and Jewel's chicks, when she babysat them while their parents took a break by going out on romantic meals or simply browsing the cityscape, before Zephyr and Venus had become mates and had their own brood. If Venus had ever been found dead, Zephyr's heart would be ripped in two like a piece of sheet humans called paper. He and Brisa had been heartbroken when they were torn from Tornado and Gael by chaos whipped up by smugglers. Zephyr couldn't bear to face heartbreak again, this time over the loss of a mate. Tornado then shot Zephyr a sympathetic look and understood how it felt to lose a loved one. He remembered losing Zephyr and Brisa when smugglers attacked and how he and Gael had been unable to find them before being forced to return to the Amazon. It had been years from then until their reunion with their son and daughter, and further joy that Tornado and Gael had become a grandpa and grandma when Zephyr revealed that he had found a mate and had six chicks with her. It was one of Tornado's fondest memories of finding out that he had grandchildren back then, and did not want to see his six grandchildren find out that their mother had died in the fire. Furthermore, Venus was a lovely macaw to have as a daughter-in-law, and Tornado and Gael had been thrilled to have her as part of their family, especially after hearing of her tragic backstory of how she had lost her parents and two sisters to loggers when she was a chick. Tornado had thought fondly of Venus's former owners who had raised her in the UK.

'They certainly have looked after her and her friends, including Mercury and Pluto, well,' he thought. As Tornado thought about these things, he thought he heard faint 'woosh' sounds. At this, he looked out and thought it was the sound of a wind blowing through the burned vegetation. However, the rushes of air were rhythmic and short, indicating that they were caused by flapping wings. The rhythmic rushes of air then began to increase in loudness, and there was not one but several. Tornado, at this, began to prepare for action. His feathers were on end and his protective nature had overshadowed him. Glancing back at Zephyr and the seven glaucous macaw youngsters, Tornado began to creep out and examine the surroundings as the rhythmic rushes of air grew louder.

"I hope those aren't some of those flying furballs," he growled under his breath. He then called for Zephyr.

"What!?" snapped Zephyr irritably making the glaucous macaws flinch slightly.

"You may want to protect those glaucous macaw chicks," replied Tornado in a low voice, "I can hear the sounds of flapping wings and I have a feeling it could be a group of those pesky bats on the prowl."

When Zephyr heard these words, his exasperation was replaced by dread and horror. He remembered that his family had run into a group of some of those infamous winged mammals shortly after they had been torn from the Spix macaw tribe in the previous fire. He immediately scooped up the seven glaucous macaw youngsters and commanded them to be quiet for they had been whimpering in fear. The seven macaws did so as Zephyr watched Tornado as he listened to the flapping noises as they grew louder. Soon, they were loud enough for Tornado to deduce that the owners of the wings were now nearby.

"Stay here with the chicks, son," commanded Tornado sternly. Zephyr nodded as his father then disappeared from the entrance of the burrow to investigate whoever was causing the wing flaps. Zephyr then looked down at the six glaucous macaw chicks and the adolescent in his wings as they cowered. They reminded him of Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, , Virgil and when Zephyr sometimes hugged the whole brood at the same time. As the thoughts of his three sons and three daughters, including his unusually small daughter, flood his mind, Zephyr began to weep again.

"You know, I understand how you seven feel," said the Spix macaw in a strangled voice, "Losing a parent. I have six chicks who are likely missing both their parents back in my tribe, alongside a sister, an uncle, a cousin and a mother. I reckon they are worried about me and my mate whose name is Venus…"

The seven young glaucous macaws looked up at him and whimpered. Then Zephyr hushed them to tell them to be quiet and fixed his eyes on the exit of the burrow, waiting for Tornado to return. Tension then began to rise as Zephyr continued gazing at the exit and into the dark, rainy forest with blackened plants, quivering with eyes flooded with fear. He began to wonder how Venus, Blu and Jewel must feel, lost and alone out there with no idea of where they were but he had hoped that Blu and Jewel had been found sooner or later. As these thoughts flooded his mind and made his heart churn like white water in a rushing river, Zephyr suddenly flinched and hugged the seven young glaucous macaws closer to himself as he heard footsteps grow louder as something approached the entrance to the burrow. They were too light to be from a human and too few to be from the most dangerous forest floor predator to the macaws, the jaguar. Tension continued to escalate as the eight quivered more and more when they heard the footsteps stop. Then suddenly…

"Zephyr, it's alright," said Tornado, peering into the burrow, making Zephyr nearly jump, "You can come out now. The flapping wings weren't any of those pesky canine-faced bats after all, and I have got that group to come and help us."

At this, Zephyr looked at the seven chicks and adolescent and began to cautiously move towards the entrance of the burrow. They were full of relief that it were only Tornado but it had appeared that he had found someone else. Zephyr emerged from the burrow with the six glaucous chicks and adolescent macaw in his wings and as he climbed out onto the surface, he saw Tornado and a group of four large birds behind him, all macaws with dark navy blue feathers and yellow facial features. Thankfully, it turned out that the flapping sounds only belonged to this group of four hyacinth macaws. One of the hyacinth macaws looked familiar and he ran towards Zephyr with wings open wide.

"Zephyr," cried the macaw and as Zephyr placed the seven young glaucous macaws down, he was wrapped in a rather tight hug which drew the breath out of him.

"Neptune," Zephyr managed to struggle out.

"Thank goodness you're alright," cried the macaw, named Neptune. Then as soon as Neptune broke the hug with Zephyr, he placed him back onto the ground. A smile then crept onto Zephyr's face, the first one in hours. The other three hyacinth macaws tittered in amusement.

"Sorry, we tend to be quite strong," said one of them, a female but not Ultramarine, "We're twice the size of you, you see."

"We thought you'd be some of those flying foxes at first," said Tornado.

"Oh, you're not in flying fox territory," said another of the three hyacinth macaws accompanying Neptune, "Far from it."

"Do you know where we are?" asked Zephyr.

"You're on the edge of the Spix macaws' territory close to the Spix/blue-and-gold territory boundary," said one of Neptune's group-mates, "Flavio has sent some patrol groups from his clan to check on the other macaw tribes and clans to see if they needed any help."

When Tornado and Zephyr heard this, they were full of relief to be still in the Sanctuary de Amazon.

"Getting lost in a fire is extremely common," said Zephyr. He then shuddered. "Oh, it was just horrible…"

Then the female hyacinth macaw saw the seven glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent.

"What are those chicks?" she asked.

"Oh, these are glaucous macaw chicks," said Tornado, "We found them in the fire. They are lost and need to be taken to safety."

Then Zephyr remembered Venus. "Oh, Neptune, you three, have you seen Venus? She has gone missing from the stargazing group and have left to search for her but could not find her in the fire."

Neptune, at this, looked at the other three hyacinth macaws and then back at Tornado and Zephyr.

"I'm afraid we haven't but we can help you look for her if you want," he said. He then looked at the glaucous macaw chicks.

"Let's get those chicks to safety first," he said, "We'll take them and you to Falkor, Fedor and Ámbar's cave first and then we'll come back out here to search for Venus."

Zephyr and Tornado were flooded with relief. With that, they and the seven glaucous macaw chicks went along with Neptune and the other three hyacinth macaws and they began to lead Tornado, Zephyr and the seven chicks in the direction of the Navyfeathers' territory, and Falkor and company's cave.

"How is Falkor the milicinth macaw doing?" asked Tornado, "I have only met him once shortly after Gael and I re-joined the Spix macaw tribe."

"He's very busy," said Neptune, "Quite a number of non-tribe and clan birds have been injured while many more had got lost in the fire."

"Thankfully the fire had not spread throughout our clan the Navyfeathers' territory," said the female hyacinth macaw, "Our home trees and most of the other trees in our area had been untouched by the fire and only a fraction of them had been burned. The rains had come and stopped the fire from spreading any further but we had evacuated to our cave just in case."

"I'm glad that your territory has only suffered minor damage," said Tornado.

"Yeah, but your territory looks even worse," said Neptune, "We have been at the Navyfeather/Spix border and when we examined the damage to the trees in your tribe's territory, we could see burned trees as far as the eye could see. Looks like the fire had ripped throughout an enormous percentage of your land."

"We don't know the extent of the damage the fire has caused to the other tribes and clans' territories," said one of Neptune's friends, "But I should imagine they could have suffered as much damage as the Spix macaws' territory."

"Flavio has sent patrol groups to check on the Spix tribe and Felipe's tribe the red macaws, anyway," said the female hyacinth macaw, "and to check to see if any help was needed. Anyway, let's get you to Falkor and his friends' cave. It's pretty dangerous to be flying out here in the dark and rain."

And with that, Tornado, Zephyr and the seven young glaucous macaws followed the four hyacinth macaws through the dark and raining forest, keeping to the canopy to avoid flying into curtains of rain falling through the gaps in the above plants.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29- Venus's nightmare continues**

On the island in the middle of the Amazon River, the animals that had taken refuge here had begun to make their way back to the mainland. They had seen that the fire had died down and that it was now safe to return to the forest. However, these animals were in a hurry. Mammals such as capybaras and monkeys quickly swam across the Amazon River, those with babies carrying their young on their backs, and hastily scrabbled onto the banks to get out of the rain while birds had flown quickly from the island and to the forest. Reptiles such as snakes and amphibians such as tree frogs also made a hasty swim across the river from the island to the forest. Venus, who had been sheltering on the island as well, had also flown back to the forest as soon as the rain had become very heavy. Rain was indeed pelting down from the cloud-filled sky, and lightning flashed once in a while. The moment Venus had returned to the forest, she was greeted by a disaster zone. The charred tree trunks and skeletal structures that once were ferns and shrubs had sent horror coursing through her. Everything was black, stripped of their greenery and colour, and smoke rose lazily from the burned plants. There were a few small fires still flickering lazily here and there on the forest floor, remnants of the much larger fire that will soon burn themselves out as well. Venus then flew on through the forest, tearing her gaze away from the devastated surroundings. Her top priority was finding help so she began to look around for any flash of colour, indicating the presence of macaws or other birds such as parakeets, through the blackened and dark forest. However, to her sadness and dismay, there wasn't any. However, Venus was compelled to keep going. She had to find help, and quickly.

Venus kept out of the rain by flying through the shelter of the canopy. Eduardo had taught her how to fly through the canopy when the weather was rainy for macaws could not fly well if their feathers got wet, but that training had only been done in the day time and when it had been sunny. Here, it was dark and Venus was not used to flying through a cluttered environment at night and in the rain. Several times she narrowly avoided colliding with a burned tree trunk or flying into blackened vine tendrils, but Venus didn't care. She wanted to find help as soon as possible but as she continued flying through the forest, she quivered as she examined the burned trees and ferns. The appendages of the plants, such as branches seemed to resemble frightening animals with gnarled and twisted claws and creepy looking shapes. Venus remembered getting lost in an English forest once when she lived with Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake, and the other macaws, Travis, Sunset, Dash and Veggie in England. They had visited Susan and Lucy's grandparents whose cottage was in the middle of a forest, and Venus had wandered off into the forest and had got lost while it was getting dark. The shapes of the branches and tree trunks seemed to have taken on the appearance of frightening beasts which scared Venus greatly. Thankfully her owners and her friends had managed to find her and bring her back to the safety of the cottage. Since then, Venus had avoided flying through the jungle at night alone. But here and now, she had no other choice but to do this.

Venus continued flying through the frightening scenery of the blackened forest for another half an hour. The forest appeared more terrifying when the occasional flash of lightning lit up the blackened vegetation in a few split-second blinks, making Venus flinch and cry in fright. Despite being frightened by the creepy looking surroundings, Venus continued, looking and calling for help. But to her utter dismay and despair, she could not find any bird within sight or earshot. Venus then passed by a large nest built under a large cluster of leaves which like everything else in the surroundings, appeared burned. It was the biggest nest she had seen in her life but when she saw that the nest, which appeared to be abandoned, contained a few slivers of blackened objects in the shape of the anatomical parts Venus had seen on animal skeletons in a natural history museum, she quivered all the more as recognition and deduction of what the burned remains were washed over her. Blu had once told Venus about how harpy eagle nests were often littered with bones of the prey the massive birds had eaten or fed their chicks. As Venus remembered this fact, she flapped harder to put some distance between herself and the nest as quickly as possible. She had never come across a harpy eagle before but based on the stories she had heard from some of her tribemates and the macaws of the neighbouring tribes and clans, such as Felipe of the red tribe who had been attacked by a harpy eagle at least once in their lives, Venus shuddered and could not bear to imagine herself coming face to face with one of those monstrous birds. Harpy eagles were the apex air predator of the rainforest, armed with lethally enormous beaks and talons capable of disembowelling a macaw with one slash, and macaws were on their menu sometimes. Massive birds, as well, far bigger than a hyacinth macaw. Not looking back at the charred nest containing the burned bones and skulls, Venus flew on. However, she was not clear of any danger yet. As Venus continued flying on through the blackened night forest and avoiding the rain, rhythmic wooshing sounds, like the sounds of flapping wings, began to sound in her ears. At this, Venus looked around and pinched herself with a talon to make sure that she was not hearing things. But the flapping wing sounds were real alright. Furthermore, there was not one pair of flapping wings, but several, and based on the different frequencies, some of the wings sounded large, with a slow beat, while a few others sounded small with a quicker wingbeat. Venus shuddered as she imagined what other predator besides the harpy eagle could fly. She had read in a book about the Amazon rainforest in Linda's new bookstore in Rio and had read that other predatory birds, such as smaller eagle species and forest falcons, also lived in the Amazon but those birds rarely hunted macaws. Venus then gulped and decided to look around again to see where those wing flapping sounds were coming from. As she examined her surroundings, she finally found the owners of the flapping wings, but the moment her eyes landed on them, she managed to stifle a horrified scream.

Venus was definitely not alone. The flapping sounds did indeed come from the wings of the owners, but those wings were not feathered as Venus thought they would be. Instead of feathers, the wings were made of skin supported by four very long digits; giving the wings a similar shape to a human object Venus had seen called an umbrella. A large piece of skin stretched between the fourth digit and the body and legs, and the four long digits themselves converged to a common point where a hook emerged. What looked like an arm emerged from the digits and hook's joining point and joined the body of these creatures with a kink formed half way down the arm: an elbow. Another, smaller piece of skin stretched between the shoulder and the hook on each wing, ahead of the arm. The bodies of the creatures were not covered in feathers, but fur. This fur was coloured either dark brown, light brown or reddish, and the wing membranes were a dark colour to black, like the colour of the burned trees and ferns, but Venus then noticed that the fur of some of these creatures were streaked with bare skin made of scar tissue. The faces and bodies of those creatures were covered with hideous scars crisscrossing their fur. Venus felt her stomach turn. Those creatures must have been in a series of fights to earn those scars. The creatures did not have talons or beaks. Instead, the creatures' faces had mouths full of teeth. Two forward positioned eyes were set above a conical snout ending in a nose while on the tops of the creatures' heads, two pointy ears stood erect. These features reminded Venus of a certain breed of dog called a husky, or a species of doglike creature native to England that had reddish fur, a bushy tail and often hunted rabbits. The creatures' feet were clawed and they appeared to lack tails. The creatures were enormous but then Venus saw that some of them appeared small, no bigger than a Spix macaw. But the largest ones were much larger, and they clearly outsized Venus in height and wingspan which measured around a metre and a half long when fully opened. Venus then immediately recognised these furry animals. _Flying foxes!_ The eyes of these flying foxes, both from the biggest ones which appeared to be adults, and the smaller ones which appeared to be youngsters called pups, were full of scorn and mockery. These mockery filled eyes beamed at Venus like lethal lasers. Their mouths were also all widened into wicked grins with their teeth showing.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, folks?" cackled one of them, a big dark brown, muscular male with hideous scars streaking his face, torso and back. His wings also looked somewhat scarred and tattered and yet he was still able to fly and to seemed that he had definitely been in a series of serious fights to come out scarred like this, "A filthy blue-feathered straggler flutterin' around after that fire, hmmm?"

"Seems like it, Voldemort," crooned another of the large bats, a lighter brown female as she eyed Venus with a toxic and sadistic look. She then examined Venus closely and as she did so, a wicked grin crept into her mouth.

"Looks like one of them Spix macaws," she crooned, "Those tacky cerulean feathered pests with the blue-white facial markings and black or dark grey beaks."

Venus flinched harshly at this poisonous comment and felt like retorting but she was too afraid to do so, as fear at the sight of these ugly creatures blocked her flow of words. Beside the female, two young bats tittered as though the whole thing was funny. Then another adult flying fox, a reddish furred male, said, "Spix macaw? I thought that flock of blue-feathered balls of slime had been burned alive in the fire years and years ago when Bruto and Sombra led our colony."

"Yeah, alongside the other flocks of lowly feathered pests including the blue, yellow and green winged, red feral pigeons," said the brown female. Then the group of flying foxes burst out laughing, but Venus did not find this at all funny.

"I sure hope that the vultures and other scavengers will have feasted on their toasted carcasses," said the first muscular male named Voldemort, "But I would love to see a macaw eaten alive by a predator."

"Yeah, it would be fun to watch," said another bat, "Watching those disgusting feather-balls die in agony that way!"

And with that the entire group of bats laughed again. Finally, Venus snapped and found something to say.

"Can't you lot just return to your colony and talk about that offensive stuff there rather than here!?" she shouted. However, inside, she regretted saying this, and a scornful laugh escaped Voldemort's throat and mouth.

"My, my, my, feisty aren't we," he crooned nastily, "For such a stupid blue-feathered pest with a stupid looking set of head feathers!"

"Yeah," said a dark brown furred female scornfully, "It looks like a harpy eagle has torn her head feathers into two with its talons!"

"Or the fire might have burned some of her head feathers away," said another bat, "I wonder if that what had happened to the Spix macaw tribe and their neighbours during that last fire?"

"Yeah, burned alive like how those humans would cook what they would call burgers and sausages?" cackled another bat. And with that, the whole group of flying foxes burst out laughing. That did it. The volcano of rage boiling within Venus finally exploded and a lava flow of acidic words began erupting from her beak as she lost control.

"You flying furballs sure are a bunch of numskulls saying those despicable things," she screeched, her feathers on end with rage and her amber eyes ablaze with fury, "If Eduardo or Felipe ever heard you say that about their tribes or their friends, they'll surely claw your hair out and…"

Then a sequence of seriously nasty things exploded from Venus's beak. Venus had never said such scathing comments in her life and she would never say such things but because she was so furious at these bats' attitude towards the Spix macaw tribe and their neighbours and how the fire had caused them great heartbreak and devastation, she had become blinded by anger to control her tongue. Venus was sometimes had a tongue like a spitting cobra when she got extremely angry, especially when after someone insulted her friends and family. However, this was a totally foolish move for it only provoked the group of mocking flying foxes further. Then Voldemort moved in, his sadism-saturated eyes fixed menacingly onto Venus.

"Guys," he called his friends, "Let's show our pups how we deal with stupid birds such as this one."

The other adult flying foxes and their pups watched as Voldemort then flapped towards Venus and lashed at her, slashing his foot claws at her. Venus, at this, felt her anger transform explosively into fear as she saw the huge bat fly at her and lash his claws at her. She screamed and dived down towards the forest floor. The group of flying foxes followed. As Venus fluttered for her life from this new threat, the words of Tornado repeated in her mind when he had told her about the flying foxes during an outing he had taken her on. _Those flying foxes are extremely dangerous to us birds. You are NOT to go anywhere near them. If you ever come across them even by accident, you must flee sharply and NEVER even speak to them_. These words made guilt and regret bubble within Venus. The flying foxes were indeed extremely dangerous to all birds. Even falcons and small species of eagles would avoid these bats for they have been known to kill those birds as well. The flying foxes had an insatiable hatred for all birds of the Amazon and saw them as nothing but vermin, an infestation that should be cleared, which was part of the teachings of the flying fox colony. The reason was unknown to the birds, but they all knew that this was what motivated the flying foxes into viciously attacking them and killing them. This explained why the adult flying foxes were covered in those hideous scars, and Voldemort looked like he had been battling a fair few. As Venus continued flying through the dark trees, avoiding the rain, she quickly examined the surroundings and to her horror, the group of flying foxes were in hot pursuit, eyes flooded with the thrill of the hunt and determination. Even worse, some of them even had sticks on hand, which Venus deduced must be some type of weapon, especially based on the sharpened tips of them, similar to spears. Venus then thought she saw a few feathers tied onto one end of those weapons. A thought crossed Venus's mind as to what those feathers were for, a thought she didn't really like. Suddenly, the voice of one of the bats snapped Venus out of her thoughts.

"Alright, you two, you try and chase that blue macaw into a seriously cluttered patch of environment while I ready the sharp stick-holding bats."

"Okay!"

"Got it!"

At this, Venus looked around and saw two of the bats begin to pursue her in a particular direction, but based on the words of the bats and what they were planning to do, Venus deduced that they were going to try and impale her with one of their weapons they had called 'sharp-sticks'. At this, the pigtailed Spix macaw screamed and began to fly through the jungle faster. However, the clutter was proving difficult to fly through, not to mention the darkness. Lightning flashed and lit up the jungle for a short amount of time and Venus began to dodge every obstacle that came her way. She flew left or right to avoid colliding into a tree trunk and she flew up and down to avoid the burned tendrils of vine. But it seemed that the jungle was trying its best to slow her down for every time Venus had to dodge an obstacle, she had to reduce her speed or she would go flying into them, and that would prove fatal as the bats would get her. Behind her, the flying foxes continued their pursuit. They had the upper hand over the still-inexperienced Spix macaw and were used to flying through a cluttered environment, especially at night. A Spix macaw like Venus that had spent only a few weeks in the jungle against a group of adult bats that had spent years, all their lives in fact, in the same environment was a total mismatch. But Venus didn't care about this experience disadvantage she had against the flying foxes. She just HAD to get away before they could even go about harming her. However, as Venus continued flying through the clutter of trees, a long black, outstretched arm crashed into her chest. Venus was stopped dead by a branch and was sent careening towards the forest floor, where she landed into a patch of burned ferns. The Spix macaw twisted her face in pain and clasped her chest. Then several drafts of air blew around her as a group of furred creatures with membranous wings touched down around her. At this, Venus opened her eyes and flinched in horror as she found herself surrounded by the group of flying foxes, some armed with the weapons. One of them, the large dark brown male with a muscular build, towered over her with a face full of untold sadism and insanity piercing her like a predator.

"We've got you now, you useless bundle of tacky feathers," growled Voldemort sadistically. He then nodded to one of the armed flying foxes, another brown female holding a stick with a sharpened tip, to advance towards Venus and make the kill.

"This'll be another feather to add to your collection of trophies, Cruella, go for it!" he cackled. With that, the female bat named Cruella smiled wickedly and walked towards Venus like a hunter about to kill a weakened animal; a sadistic and evil look written all over her face. On one tip of her sharp-stick opposite the sharpened tip were a cluster of feathers tied to it, taken from countless species of birds. Based on what Voldemort said about it being a collection of trophies, Venus deduced that the number of feathers marked the number of birds killed by a weapon-wielding flying fox, and that the feathers were collected from the bird after the bat had made the kill. If a group of flying foxes had worked together to kill a bird, each of the group members took a feather from that victim to add to their cluster of feathers of their weapons. However, Venus was not going to allow any of the bats of Voldemort's group to make any of her feathers part of their collections of trophies. Ignoring the pain in her chest from the impact against the branch, Venus prepared for action. As Cruella then raised her sharp-stick and prepared to ram it through Venus's back, aiming for where the heart was with the other flying foxes including the pups watching intently, the pigtailed Spix macaw sprang into action. Jumping up off the ground much to the bats' shock, Venus jumped into the air and raked her claws across Cruella's face. Cruella let loose an agonised cry and fell over, covering her face with her wings.

"RESTRAIN IT!" screeched Voldemort and with that, two more adult bats rushed in to try and grab Venus but she also slashed her claws across both of their faces, knocking them back. Then Venus quickly lofted into flight. However, she was not completely clear of this group of flying foxes. Venus looked back and saw that some of them, among them Voldemort were chasing after her once again. Some of the bats had stayed behind to tend to the injured Cruella and the other two bats. Soon, the chase was back in the air. Venus looked back and saw the remaining bats fly after her. She could clearly see the determination burning in their eyes, as fiercely as the fire had been. These looks reminded Venus of how Brutus had pursued her group through the slums of Rio the night they had managed to escape the smugglers' den. He had that sort of look, but these bats were far more terrifying than Brutus. They were bloodthirsty, ruthless and far more aggressive. This was what Roberto and his family would have faced when Roberto had been a younger macaw. During their outing, Roberto and his family had been set upon by a group of flying foxes, where they viciously attacked and slaughtered them. Roberto and his father had escaped but his father had been fatally wounded while Roberto only had minor cuts and bruises. This occurred before Roberto was captured by smugglers and taken away to be owned. No wonder Roberto was so afraid of the flying foxes now, besides humans that were bad news after his horrifying time as a pet when he was abused by a young girl. Brushing away those thoughts aside, Venus continued making her escape, flying as quickly as possible through the dark trees and avoiding the rain. Lightning flashed and rain continued to pelt down but Venus avoided flying into the rain as the water would soak her feathers and slow her down. As she continued flying on, Venus stole a glance from behind. She saw no flying foxes pursuing her. At this, Venus breathed a sigh of relief, not realising that she was not clear of them yet. Suddenly, a pair of feet, armed with sharp claws appeared from above and raked themselves down Venus's back. The pigtailed Spix macaw screeched in agony and began to lose control of her flying. Venus careened towards the forest floor and crashed headfirst into the dirt. Then the sounds of cackling and, "Nice one Voldemort!" were uttered from behind Venus. At this, Venus wearily pushed her face out of the dust and coughed out the particles from her nose and beak when shooting agony exploded from her back. At this, the Spix macaw sent a wing to touch her back but when the wing returned, the maya blue flight feathers were marked with a red stain. Venus gasped. She had been badly scratched down the back. Suddenly, Venus heard the sounds of flapping membranous wings emanate from behind her. At this, she turned round and saw Voldemort and his gang approach her and then touch down, their eyes flooded with sadism. Venus then saw that Voldemort's foot claws were covered with a red liquid. He must have been the one to deliver the scratch. As the bats walked towards her, Voldemort nodded to one of the female bats with two pups by her side.

"Now, have one of your pups attack this useless parrot like how he did with that dummy bird during the training classes," he commanded. The female bat nodded and had one of her pups, the eldest, walk towards Venus. Venus blinked in surprise. Training classes? But then it dawned upon her. The flying foxes must train their pups to fight against birds. Venus couldn't understand why. She would never teach her chicks to fight against other birds. Self-defence, yes but not unnecessary fights. As the pup approached Venus and prepared to attack her, Venus packed away, leaving a few drops of red that leaked from the claw marks on her back.

"Get it," called Voldemort and before Venus could back away further, the pup jumped at her and sank its teeth into her right wing. Venus cried in utter agony as the pup drew blood. Then the pup quickly withdrew before Venus could retaliated by biting or clawing it. The other flying foxes clapped in applause.

"Well done," said Voldemort as he clapped his wings, "That'll teach this good-for-nothing piece of useless forest trash to mock us."

Venus, at this, blinked in surprise but she held her bitten wing with a twisted face. Then suddenly, the urge to flee exploded within her once again. Before Voldemort could get another of the pups to attack her, Venus bolted like an antelope escaping a predator and took off into the forest, flapping like mad despite the extreme pain coming from the wounds from her back and right wing.

"AFTER IIIT!" cried Voldemort with a swing of a wing pointing at Venus. And with that, membranous wing flaps filled the air behind Venus once again. Venus, this time did not look back. As the scratch on her back and bite injury on her right wing continued to leak blood, sending red droplets flying through the air, Venus began to really fly for her life. She just had to shake off these bats. Then she heard Voldemort say something that chilled her to the bone.

"The next time that blue parrot falls out of the air and onto the forest floor, we're gonna kill it without hesitation. Then we'll find Cruella and the other bats and head back to our colony's territory before any of those other feathered pests come along and find us."

Venus trembled and began to pump her wings faster despite the pain emanating from her aching muscles and from the bite wound on her wing and scratch on her back. She began to fly extremely fast, faster than she had ever flown before. Behind her, Voldemort and his gang of bats continued flapping after her, faces saturated with the determination to kill Venus on the spot this time. They were not going to let her get away that easily, and Venus knew that this time, her life was in mortal danger. Her only chance of survival was to escape these bats and head for the safety of one of the macaw tribes or clan's territory and home patch where she will find help. But it was not going to be easy for that meant flying through the dark and cluttered environment and keeping out of the rain again, so Venus began to do that regardless of her wounds crying out in pain. The Spix macaw and the bats behind her began to weave in and out of the blackened trees, occasionally flying through a jet of rain that fell through the gaps in the canopy. The rain caught in Venus's wounds and made them cry in pain more, and wash away some of the blood. Venus's heart was pumping, her body flooded with adrenaline and fight-or-flight, and her wing muscles were pumping madly to pull her wings up and down, and her lungs were inhaling and exhaling at a rapid rate, but it was still not enough for the flying foxes led by the sadistic Voldemort were still in hot pursuit like wolves after an antelope. Lightning flashed and lit up the dark jungle in a series of short blinks, and Venus narrowly avoided hitting another branch. She swept under it just in time. The bats followed and also dodged the obstacle. Venus continued to pump her wings like mad, but ache was beginning to creep into her muscles for they were starting to get tired but she knew she was not clear of the bats yet. Behind her, Voldemort and the others continued their chase, determined to wear Venus down and kill her before making their journey back to their colony's land. They also had aching muscles but determination kept them on the chase. Then Venus began to slow down as her wings became more and more fatigued. She stole a glance at the flying foxes pursuing her and saw that they were gaining on her. At this, a million thoughts rushed through Venus's mind, including images of her life:

Memories of her family in Rio when she and Mercury were chicks. Her meeting of Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake, and Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto for the first time, her meeting of Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash as young cockatoos, a kitten and puppy respectively, all the adventures she had with her owners and group in England, the finding out that she was a Spix macaw, her trip to Rio with the others, meeting of Zephyr alongside Brisa, Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli, and Ruby and the others, her adventures in Rio with them including her first meeting of Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, her first dance with Zephyr, her time with Zephyr as they fell in love and became mates, and the hatching of Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Following these thoughts, images of Venus's family and friends began to flow. Images of Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, then Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette; Jupiter and his family; and then Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Travis and their families; Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Tornado, Gael, Nuvem, Viento, Roberto, Brisa, Eduardo, Mimi. As the thoughts about these macaws and cockatoos, especially of her beloved mate Zephyr and her four chicks, flooded her mind like floodwater, the urge to escape and survive ignited within Venus. Compelled by this, Venus began to try and look for an alternative escape idea as she flew through the forest. She examined the forest floor for this, just as Voldemort and his gang closed in on her. Then Venus saw something shiny as lightning flashed once again: something slimy and brown. The moment she saw this, an idea entered her head as she remembered Eduardo's training using mud. At this, Venus turned round and hovered with terrifying eyes looking at Voldemort and his gang. One of the bats had a sharp-stick, again with a cluster of feathers tied to one end like the one Cruella had, in its feet, ready to stab Venus the moment the group was near her, and then made a hasty dive towards the forest floor like a maya blue comet. Voldemort and his gang swerved and followed.

"Don't let it get away!" yelled Voldemort during the dive. Venus then swerved around some burned vegetation to seriously confuse the bats and then made a hasty dive into a mud puddle behind a larger burnt bush, leaving the out-of-breath bats perplexed as to where she had gone. Voldemort let loose a frustrated sigh through his heavy breathing.

"I told you lot not to lose that macaw," he growled angrily. The other bats just looked at him. Behind the bush, Venus continued rolling in the mud to mask her bright maya blue feathers with the brown stuff. She was also breathing heavily and the wounds on her back and right wing stung like a hundred bees, especially as mud got caught in them, but Venus was too flooded with adrenaline to even care. Then as soon as her entire maya blue plumage was under the brown suit, Venus quickly climbed out of the mud puddle and began to gather some burned wood to further camouflage herself from the bats. She picked up a few burned sticks and twigs and tied them to her mud-covered pigtails, wings and body. Then Venus hid amongst a cluster of burned bushes and tried to calm her breathing and trembling. However, the whole ordeal has sent her muscles into a shaking frenzy. Venus knew that she could not face another chase. She had had enough adrenaline rushes for one night. As she hid amongst the burned vegetation in her camouflage suit and hugged the shadows, she watched Voldemort and his gang closely. Voldemort and his gang then began to pace around, eyes carefully scanning the surroundings like hunters. They were clearly keen on finding and killing her, but at the same time they were also wary of their surroundings. If these bats were found by any of the macaws, those macaws could easily chase these bats out and that could cause chaos. Venus then froze and held her breath as two of the bats came her way and scanned the surroundings. One bat then looked in Venus's direction but all he saw was a burned bush against a brown background. Taken in by this normal-looking scene, the bat moved his eyes to scan more of the surroundings.

"Can any of you find that blue parrot at all?" asked Voldemort, his voice tinted with impatience, "I'm beginning to get agitated as this could be birds' territory."

"No," said a female bat, "I don't know where that blue macaw has disappeared to."

"Oh, come on, it's a bright blue bird," said another female bat with a frown, "It's not that hard to miss."

Then Voldemort sauntered like a cat in Venus's direction. Venus froze as the enormous dark brown bat with a muscular build approached the spot where she was hiding, and held her breath. Voldemort then began to examine the burned bush. Venus then quietly moved away towards the tree trunk, hugging the shadows and the brown muddy soil, freezing and keeping still every time Voldemort's eyes raked over her location. This continued on for a few tense minutes until finally, and to Venus's tense relief, Voldemort called off the search having given up.

"Let's just forget that macaw, folks," he said, turning to the other bats, "and head back to our colony's territory. I'm beginning to feel that we've spent enough time in this part of the rainforest and I don't want any of those pesky parrots finding us in their territory."

At this, the other bats groaned and reluctantly prepared to take off. As they did that, Venus, after a breath of relief, crept out of her hiding place as the bats opened their wings and took off. And within minutes, the hideous looking dog-faced flying mammals disappeared into the dense clutter of burned trees. Venus then began to make her move but then adrenaline took hold once again. In a flash, the pigtailed Spix macaw opened her wings and rocketed off into the burned rainforest herself, desperate to find a bird tribe or clan.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30- found and relieved reunions**

Venus flew quickly through the dark and rainy forest, covered in mud and bits of burned vegetation as the pieces of sticks she had used to help camouflage herself from the flying foxes led by the wicked Voldemort had fallen off. After two adrenaline-filled and near-death ordeals in one night, first with the fire and then with a group of every Amazon bird's worst enemies the flying foxes, things had begun to take their toll on the poor Spix macaw. Venus was now more frightened than ever. With agonising pain emanating from her scratched back and bitten wing, and her body flooded with intense fright and desperation, the pigtailed Spix macaw continued to rocket through the black forest as though she were still being chased by the flying foxes. As Venus rocketed through the forest for her life, fear and terror completely engulfing her like flames a tree, the forest seemed to look absolutely frightening, but this time, Venus's imagination began to run out of control as her immense fear began to have a psychological effect on her perception of the environment. Venus flew in one direction until she found herself staring into a pair of eyes. They belonged to a moustached tamarin monkey who screeched in her face in fright and fled. Venus then turned and flew in another direction when she struck something scaly and slimy. At this, Venus examined the surface, wondering what it was, until she found herself receiving a loud hiss to the face by a snake. Startled, she flew away, the serpent hissing after her and flicking its forked tongue. Venus continued flying on until she looked in the direction of a large tree trunk swarmed by creeping roots and a hole at the base. The shape of the roots, the trunk and the hole then appeared to transform into a leering face so frightening that Venus let loose a loud screech. However, the face wasn't really there. It was just Venus's imagination. Venus, frightened by the illusion, darted off in another direction until she struck another branch and fell to the floor next to some burned ferns. As Venus shook herself to and looked at the ferns, they appeared to morph into large frightening fish with sharp teeth, like a pack of piranha. Venus screeched and backed away and took off into the air, pain from her bitten right wing making her yelp. Venus then flew through the forest which appeared to be filled with trees with menacing faces glaring at her in the most frightening way, with branches seemingly resembling claws made more terrifying by a flash of lightning and the rain that continued pouring down. Venus looked around and saw these illusory faces and claws and screeched loudly and rocketed on. Then she thought she saw a giant spectral glowing creature emerge out of the canopy behind her and begin to chase her. Venus screeched and rocketed on. This spectral creature, which was really a manifestation of Venus's intense fear, had a face like a cockatoo. Its eyes glared menacingly after Venus and its beak wore a smile of scornful and sadistic mockery, like the ones Voldemort and his gang had on their faces earlier. A large, raised crest atop its head made it look more terrifying. This cockatoo-faced manifestation then chased Venus through the darkened forest of nightmare creatures (from her perspective).

Venus continued flying on through the terrifying nightmare forest, the cockatoo-faced creature chasing her for another while until she entered a part buried in total darkness and shadow. Here, she was confronted by glowing and terrifying eyes, crests and beaks similar to the glowing cockatoo-faced creature that chased her. These cockatoo-faced creatures had frightening eyes, beaks widened into a menacingly evil smile and crests raised in the most terrifying way. Venus, at this, began to panic and look around to escape these imaginary faces, but everywhere she looked, there were more cockatoo faces, all with beaks hanging open in evil smiles as though mocking her. Fright then boiled inside Venus as she saw more and more of these imaginary cockatoo faces each time she looked in another direction until finally, she was overwhelmed by extreme terror. After a crack of lightning sounded and lit up the forest, Venus's immense fright reached its breaking point, erupting out of Venus's beak through an extremely loud and piercing squawk. The pigtailed Spix macaw then fell out of the air and collapsed onto the forest floor in another mud puddle, wings over her face and her body shaking violently all over. Venus then timidly looked at the surroundings one final time as blackness slowly began to envelop her vision. However, before her world was masked completely by darkness, she thought she saw a few blurry shapes approach her but these weren't reddish, brown or dark brown with black wings like the hideous flying foxes. These shapes were large and dark blue, small and green or had other colours but one at the front was large with green and teal with blue tips at the emanations that appeared to be wings and a tail. Before Venus could tell what these shapes were, she passed out completely.

The fires had completely died down by now but the rains continued pelting the blackened rainforest. Rivers and lakes were replenished of their lost water, and animals had taken shelter in dens and under burned bushes to stay out of the deluge. However, some animals were not doing this for they had an important task to carry out. In one part of the Sanctuary de Amazon in the Spix tribe's territory, Roberto and his group were flying around looking for Blu and Jewel, Zephyr, Brisa and Venus and calling their names. They had been searching much of the territory but had not found the five missing macaws anywhere, and had moved the search to near the Brazil nut grove. Roberto, Brisa, Maximillian, Roxie and the other four macaws with them continued looking around in every nook and cranny of the burned trees and on the forest floor. Travis was with them, having volunteered to come and help, while Sunset remained behind in the Spix macaws' ravine with Eustace, Milo and Rosa, their hybrid chicks. Travis had been horrified by the devastation the fire had caused as he flew with the Spix macaws through the area. He had never known fires to spread so much and consume so much area. However, he did not care about this. His main priority was finding Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Tornado and Venus. Travis moved from one hollow to the next. As he did that, Roxie searched the branches.

"You know, trying to find a macaw in this cluttered environment is like trying to find a needle in a haystack," said Travis.

"A what?" asked Roxie, the Spix macaws' Pit of Doom scoremarker confused.

"It's a saying," explained Travis, "It's another way of saying something is extremely hard to find."

Roxie tilted her head to one side, still confused so Travis said it a different way.

"Put it like this," he said, "Have you tried finding a stick insect or leaf grasshopper hiding among a large tree with leaves?"

"Oh, I get it," said Roxie, "But 'neeble' and 'hay-something-or-other' are words I have never heard of."

Brisa then flew in. having spent some time in a city, she had learned a few human terms and sayings, as well as names for human things.

"A needle is a small sharp piece of metal humans use in making clothes," she explained, "Can you imagine trying to find something like that in this dense vegetation?"

Roxie replied with a worried look. "Well I hope Blu, Jewel, your brother Zephyr, father Tornado and sister-in-law Venus aren't that hard to find," she said.

"I hope not either," said Brisa with a sigh, "Let's just continue the search."

Travis nodded and flew over to the next hollow to check it. As he inserted his head into the hollow, Roberto came by.

"Maximillian, where are we?" he called to a macaw flying overhead.

"We're near the Brazil nut grove and the Spix/red border," replied Maximillian as he flew overhead. Roxie then let a frustrated sigh escape her beak.

"Those five have just GOT to be somewhere," she muttered, "Especially Jewel, otherwise, our patriarch's going to be like how he was when we lost Jewel the first time in the previous fire."

"Huh, I remember that all too well," said a middle-aged male macaw named Bernardo, who was one of the other four macaws in the search group, "He was in absolute bits for months after the fire. But Eduardo isn't going to be the only one to face heartbreak over Jewel's disappearance. Jewel has three chicks waiting for her and their father Blu…"

"And Justin and his three siblings have a mother, a father, and a paternal grandfather still out there too," added Travis. Bernardo nodded and then resumed his search. Roberto then came by, a sombre look on his face.

"Last time Ju-Ju was found missing, Eduardo was seriously heartbroken," he murmured, "and so were the rest of us."

Travis looked at him sympathetically.

"For fifteen years we've lived with that loss until she returned," added Roberto, "Eduardo can't bear this the second time… and neither could we. She's just GOT to be found."

Travis sighed and then moved on and continued to shout the missing macaws' names. However, Roberto's group was rather close to two of the macaws they were looking for. Blu, Jewel and Mars were flying through the Brazil nut grove, eyes filled with horror at the burned trees. However, Mars was wary.

"Be careful, you two," he said, "There could be some burned Brazil nuts ready to fall."

Blu and Jewel did so and kept a sharp eye out for any Brazil but clusters and avoided flying under them. Blu looked around.

"This is definitely like a warzone," he murmured, "It's like a bombsite."

"Fire can burn anything to the ground, Blu, if allowed to get out of control," said Mars, "Even large human cities like London can be reduced to a pile of burned rubble. Pretty useful when handled aright and carefully but if you let fire run amok; the results can be disastrous such as in this case."

Blu nodded before looking at Jewel. She seemed calmer now that the fire had finally died down completely save for a few cinders still glowing on the forest floor and smoke rising lazily from one of the burned ferns. However, Jewel was completely shaken from the whole nightmare. Despite this, she continued following Mars and Blu as they flew on, avoiding the Brazil nut clusters and the rain. As the trio continued flying on, Blu slowed to a stop and began to listen.

"What is it, Blu?" asked Mars as Jewel hovered near him. Blu raised a talon to tell him to be quiet. Mars and Jewel did so and began to listen. It sounded like someone calling in the distance. Mars, who had quite keen hearing, then began to try and decipher the words in the calls.

"It sounds like we're approaching some of the macaws who are trying to search for us," said Mars. At this, hope and joy bloomed within Blu and Jewel like a cloud of algae in a lake.

"Then we're nearing some of the members from our tribe," cried Blu joyfully, "We'd better hurry!"

And with that, he and Jewel rocketed off in the direction of the sounds, tracing their sources. Mars followed after a late start.

"Hey, guys wait up!" he shouted, narrowly avoiding colliding into a tree branch. Mars fluttered aside and then flew off after Blu and Jewel. Back with Roberto's group, Travis and the Spix macaws continued looking in every hollow in each tree and holes in the ground, calling Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Tornado and Venus's names as loud as they could. While Roberto searched the upper canopy with Maximillian, Roberto shouting Jewel's childhood nickname (Ju-Ju), Travis landed onto a branch and peered into a hollow. However, he forgot that he was under a large cluster of burned Brazil nuts, which was a lethal mistake. As Travis then retracted his head out of the hollow, a lush blue blur shot in and tackled him off the branch. Travis yelled in shock and then noticed that it was Roberto who had knocked him off the branch.

"Be careful not to perch under any Brazil nuts, yellow crest," said Roberto, forgetting Travis's name. Travis, at this, looked at where he stood and then up at the cluster of Brazil nuts directly where he had been standing. One Brazil nut then came loose. Its stem snapped and the heavyweight ball of burned shell and fruit careened through the air and bounced heavily off the branch with a thud, exactly where Travis had been standing seconds earlier, before falling all the way to the forest floor. Travis drew in a slight gasp and raised his head feathers a little as he watched the whole thing.

"That would have landed on you and fatally broken your spine had I not knocked you away in time," said Roberto, Travis giving him a surprised look. "Brazil nuts are lethal when they fall from their trees and they could instantly kill a bird if they land on it, and there are many Brazil nuts around here, so be careful of where you fly and where you land."

"I see," said Travis, "Thanks for reminding me of the hazards. I'll have to remember that and tell Sunset and my chicks before we plan a visit to this grove."

"Then make sure you do," said Roberto as he and Travis then flew on to resume their search, "Because those Brazil nuts can be dangerous since they could fall any time, even when they are burned."

Travis nodded and the two then resumed their search for the missing Spix macaws, shouting their names. Roxie continued scanning the forest floor, blue eyes raking each area under the ferns and in any holes in the ground while Brisa, Bernardo and the other three macaws scanned the trees. However, Roberto's group were unaware that they were nearing two of their five target macaws. Blu, Jewel and Mars continued tracing the source's sounds and as they approached it, the words became much clearer. The three stopped and listened.

"Blu, Jewel!"

"Zephyr, Tornado, Venus!"

"Where are you?"

"Ju-Ju!"

That last call was from an unmistakable macaw, which Jewel immediately recognised. As she did so, joy, the first she had ever experienced since getting lost in the fire, flared within her.

"That's Roberto," she told Blu and Mars, "That's definitely Roberto!"

Then before Blu or Mars could say a word, Jewel was flying through the air faster than ever, a cerulean comet. She began to answer Roberto and the other macaws' calls. Blu and Mars followed. Back with Roberto's group, Brisa stopped when she thought she heard something. She called the others to freeze with a 'Shhh'. The other macaws and Travis did so and listened.

"Roberto!"

"Anyone recognise that?" asked Brisa, a bubble of hope expanding within her. At this, Roberto popped to attention.

"Yes," he said, "It sounds like Ju-Ju! Let's trace the sound and try and meet her!"

As the other macaws heard this, they were filled with immense hope that Eduardo's daughter was still alive and began to follow Roberto and Brisa. Travis also went along.

"Eduardo's going to be over the moon when we find her," said Bernardo as he flapped alongside Roxie.

"I bet he will," said Travis, "She's his only daughter I've been told."

"Jewel is his only daughter," said Brisa. Then the group continued flying through the forest. Jewel then stopped and perched onto a branch to look around. Blu and Mars turned up, Blu gasping for air. Mars then stole a glance at his fanny pack.

"You're seriously being weighed down by that bum bag tied around your waist, Blu," said Mars with a frown, "You seriously need to start thinking about not flying around with that as much…"

"I had to have it on me for the stargazing group," said Blu as he took a moment to regain his breathing rate, "Especially for the binoculars…"

Mars just rolled his eyes in annoyance. Then Jewel looked into the distance through the burned trees. It was then that a few blue forms and a white form with a yellow splotch on its head emerged from some branches and into view. When Jewel saw this, joy finally exploded within her like a shockwave.

"Roberto!" she screeched and with that, she rocketed off the branch and dashed straight for the one at the front, the one with the mop-like head feathers. "ROOBEEEERTOOOOO!"

Blu and Mars followed. Roberto saw his childhood friend come rocketing towards him.

"Ju-Ju!" he cried and with that, he opened his wings and the moment Jewel collided with him, he locked her into a relieved and emotional embrace. "You're ALIVE!"

Then Jewel began to cry into his shoulder. Blu and Mars then turned up when suddenly, a white and yellow bundle of feathers jumped at Blu and hugged him tightly, much to his shock such that he went red under his facial feathers.

"Blu, you're alright too!" cried Travis as the other macaws gathered round.

"Seriously, Travis," muttered Blu as he struggled out of Travis's rather tight hug, "You're embarrassing me."

Then Travis broke the hug with Blu while Roberto broke the hug with Jewel. Brisa then came forward, a bright smile adorning her face as she looked at Blu.

"You certainly were brave to fly out and find Jewel in the inferno, Blu," she said.

"Blu," said Roxie, "You're a hero. Eduardo is going to be so pleased."

Bernardo, Maximillian and the other three then came round as Jewel then landed next to Blu. Blu then turned to Mars and humbly said, "Actually, Mars, Jupiter and Felipe and the other red macaws with them deserve the thanks, not me. They were the ones who found us first after the fire. Mars chose to escort us back to our territory and tribe while Felipe and the others moved on to continue to survey the damage done to their home."

"Then I shall reward Felipe greatly," said Roberto with a beaming smile, "You did an excellent job in looking after Blu and Jewel, Mars."

Mars sighed and smiled. "No need to reward me, Roberto. We just found these two hiding in a little cave in our territory. They must have wandered into our patch during the fire."

"We did," said Blu. Then he found himself meeting the grateful and thankful eyes of Jewel.

"I cannot thank you enough for risking your life to look for me, Blu," she said lovingly. Blu shrugged shyly.

"I just did what I have to do," he said, "There was no way I was going to let you die in that fire and I didn't want to see Eduardo break down again after what happened to you in the previous fire…"

At this, Jewel was overflowing with love and thankfulness for her mate. Not wanting to hold it in any longer, she lunged at Blu, locked him into an embrace and planted a huge, passionate kiss on him. The others looked on with smiles on their beaks. Roberto was especially enamoured by how strong the bond between Jewel and Blu were, and had hoped to find a mate for himself one day. Nearly all his friends were either dating or had mates with chicks. Jewel had Blu, Zephyr had Venus and Nuvem, Zephyr and Brisa's cousin was going out with a female in-training nurse macaw, Cassia, and Roxie had no shortage of male admirers. However, the only female macaw who was still single was Brisa, and she seemed to show some feelings toward Roberto and he seemed to show feelings for her as well. However, only time will tell if those feelings would develop into romance. Then Travis turned to Mars.

"Have you or any of your tribe seen Zephyr, Tornado and Venus at all?" he asked. Mars made a surprised face.

"Venus got lost in the fire?" he replied incredulously.

"She was reported missing from the stargazing group, and Zephyr and Tornado also went into the fire to look for her," explained Roxie. Then Mars shook his head.

"We only found Blu and Jewel hiding in our territory," he said sadly, "But we haven't seen any signs of Venus, Tornado and Zephyr."

Then Mars felt his heart twist as the news on what happened to Venus and how she disappeared from the stargazing group. Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto would have gone missing in the fire as well, but to hear that Venus had actually done so made his heart lurch. Venus was one of Mars's closest friends, as was Zephyr, and Mars did not want to see their chicks, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil orphaned. Turning to Roberto's group as Jewel broke the kiss with Blu, Mars said, "I just hope those three are found right away, because I'd hate to think of the heartbreak that would cause Zephyr's family and chicks."

Brisa, at this, sighed. Her brother, father and sister-in-law were still missing. Then Roberto decided it was time to head back.

"Well, we'd better get back to the ravine anyway," he said, "Eduardo will be waiting for us but I'll inform him that Zephyr, Venus and Tornado are still missing. Anyway, thanks again, Mars and we'll see you next time."

Mars nodded and prepared to return to the red tribe. After sharing a hug with Roxie, Blu, Travis and then Jewel, Mars part ways with the group.

 **Meanwhile**

Zephyr and Tornado, together with the six glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent, continued following Neptune and the other three hyacinth macaws toward the Navyfeather Clan's territory. They had, in fact, already entered the hyacinth macaw clan's turf and were now searching for Falkor and his friends' cave. Zephyr still wore a saddened face as he thought about Venus. He looked around at the surroundings as they flowed by and let loose a saddened sigh. Unlike the burned trees in a large percentage of the Sanctuary, this part was unaffected and the plants still had their greenery and colour on them. Tornado and Zephyr had been surprised to see the change.

"As you can see," explained Neptune, "The fire had not spread all the way here, so the vegetation is still green."

"I'm glad you hyacinth macaws hadn't suffered as much damage from the fire as our tribe had," said Tornado as he still shuddered from the nightmarish scene from the fire. "Our chicks are not going to sleep well in the coming nights, I can tell you," he nodded to the seven glaucous macaw youngsters, "these seven especially. They've been much traumatised."

"We all had," said the female hyacinth macaw, "I just hope the other macaws and birds are alright."

Zephyr and Tornado sighed and continued following the four hyacinth macaws toward Falkor's cave. A good while later, Falkor's cave finally melted into view and the moment it did, Neptune led Tornado, Zephyr and the glaucous macaw youngsters toward it with his three friends following closely behind. Tornado then looked around and saw that the cave and its surroundings were dotted with many colourful forms. It was clear that Falkor's cave was busy tonight. The fire had caused an awful lot of damage and non-tribe and clan resident birds had come from the Spix and red macaw tribes' territories to seek help from Falkor and his friends, bringing their injured along with them. A few members from Flavio's clan had also come to help the injured birds or those that had got lost in the fire. As Neptune and his three companions touched down near the entrance to the cave with Tornado, Zephyr and the glaucous macaw chicks, Neptune told the Spix and glaucous macaws to wait here while he walked into the cave to find either Flavio, Marinho, Ultramarine or Falkor. Tornado and Zephyr obeyed and waited with the three hyacinth macaws and the seven young glaucous macaws.

"It's surprising to see some more glaucous macaws besides Pluto and his family," said the female hyacinth macaw, "Neptune had told us about Lapis Lazuli and how she had managed to escape those barbaric bats when her tribe was viciously attacked by them years ago. I thought all the other glaucous macaws would have died in the slaughter."

"Well it seems that a large number of the glaucous macaw tribe had managed to survive," said Zephyr, looking down on the six glaucous macaw chicks and adolescent, "Venus told me all about it and how those macaws led by Rudi, who I think was Lapis Lazuli's cousin, were too stubborn to see that they were living in vulnerable conditions…"

"Well, by the sounds of it, that tribe will have been decimated by the fire," said another of the three hyacinth macaws, "Especially if that inferno took them by surprise."

Tornado and Zephyr sighed but they didn't realise that the majority of the glaucous macaws were still alive and had taken refuge with some of the macaw tribes and clans on the sanctuary. Then Neptune emerged from the cave with a large green and teal macaw. However, he was not a pure hyacinth macaw based on his plumage. His wing and tail flight feathers, and some of the feathers on his chest were tipped dark blue, similar to the colour of most hyacinth macaws, and he had a fleshy ring surrounding each eye and a beak lappet behind his lower mandible. As soon as Falkor the milicinth macaw met Zephyr and Tornado and saw the seven young glaucous macaws, he gasped.

"Oh, Tornado, Zephyr, thank goodness," he said in utter relief, enclosing the two macaws in a tight hug. Zephyr squirmed as Falkor's rather immense strength threatened to suffocate him and Tornado but the milicinth macaw soon released the two. Falkor then gazed at them with his amber eyes.

"You two have arrived just in time," he said. At this, Zephyr and Tornado looked at each other and then back at the hyacinth/military hybrid. Then a couple of hyacinth macaws came and took the glaucous macaws away into the cave.

"What do you mean?" asked Zephyr. But then he felt a pang of hope bubble within him. Falkor sighed.

"We found a Spix macaw in a state of hysteria," he said, "while we were flying out searching for more non-tribe and clan bird survivors when we heard an extremely frightened squawk. We followed that sound and we found the macaw lying in a mud puddle and trembling violently all over. It is a female with a double set of head feathers and was partly covered in mud and a few bits of burned vegetation but by the time we landed by her side, she had passed out. We believe that the trauma of the fire might have caused her to enter that seizure-like state and faint. Anyway, we picked her up and then carried her to our cave, treated her wounds, and now she's under Ámbar's care. She has just woken up now and had been uttering…"

But before he could finish, Zephyr blurted out. "Pigtailed female Spix macaw? That sounds like Venus! Can you take us to her?"

Falkor nodded and turned to Neptune.

"Can you take care of the seven glaucous macaws that two of your clan-mates had taken into the cave while I lead Zephyr and Tornado to that Spix macaw named Venus please?" he asked. Neptune nodded and left for the cave entrance while Falkor nodded to the three hyacinth macaws who had accompanied Neptune in bringing Tornado and company here. The three big navy blue birds nodded in reply and left to help the other macaws deal with more birds needing help. Falkor then led Tornado and Zephyr through the cave entrance and into the cave itself. Tornado and Zephyr looked around and were surprised to see that the cave, though dark, was lit up by glowing bugs called fireflies. Holes in the cave wall provided fresh air and served as windows to the structure as well as light during the daytime. The beginning of the cave was a tunnel and birds were going in and out of it, bringing more frightened and injured birds in while those that went out left to help those that had just turned up.

"This cave is under a well-sheltered part of the canopy," explained Falkor as he led the two male Spix macaws, the father and son, through the tunnel toward an opening at the end, "Thus it makes a great infirmary or refuge for injured or lost birds. However, we cannot use it in the event of a fire since this place has so much vegetation around it that it could actually turn into a death chamber as smoke could leak into this place through those holes. We had to evacuate the place when Flavio had alerted us of the fire spreading and had to wait in a large clearing until the fire died down. Thankfully it did not spread all the way here but it had been very scary."

Tornado and Zephyr sighed. They knew that very well. 'Too well,' thought Tornado. Then soon the three had entered the end of the tunnel. As they stepped out of the end, they were greeted by a large cavity opening from the tunnel's end. Inside were dozens of birds under the care of a few hyacinth macaws and their friends. The cave floor was smothered with soft soil and there were dozens of ledges and moss beds dotting the rim of the cavity occupied by various bird species. In the roof holes perforated the rock, providing fresh air into the cave and the large space in the middle of the cavity was occupied by macaws and other helpers going back and forth from one casualty to another. Tornado then noticed a hoatzin move from one group of bird to another.

"That's Fedor," said Falkor with a point to the hoatzin, "As you will know he is Ultramarine and her family's friend, and a close friend of the Navyfeather Clan. He's come to help us tend to these lost and injured birds."

Zephyr also watched Fedor as he helped an amazon helper check a cast made of stiff sticks and twigs covering a wing of a red-fronted macaw. He felt a pang of pity for the green, blue and red bird and remembered Felipe's report of the clan of red-fronted macaws being driven out by the flying foxes.

"That's one of the red-fronted macaw refugees," explained Falkor, "She has come to live here for a few weeks while we help her find a home in the Navyfeather Clans' territory. She is a widowed macaw who had lost her entire family during the siege of the flying foxes on her clan's home and has suffered a broken wing. That is why her wing is in a cast as you can see."

"I know," said Tornado, "we heard all about it."

Zephyr's eyes then travelled from the red-fronted macaw and began to scan the large cavity. Then suddenly, a female voice shouted "Falkor!"

At this, Falkor turned and saw a bright ivory and golden-yellow macaw wave to her. At this, Falkor immediately led Tornado and Zephyr through the clearing in her direction. Then as soon as Falkor had met Ámbar and hugged her, Zephyr and Tornado saw a rather bedraggled looking Spix macaw lying on her left in a bed of moss, her back turned to them. Her maya blue plumage, which was normally glossy and glowed brilliantly when exposed to the moonlight were wet and streaked with mud and Zephyr was horrified to see that her back was covered with a large leaf. The macaw's pigtail feathers were out of place and messy and her right wing appeared to have another leaf wrapped around it as well. Then without another moment's hesitation, Zephyr ran over to the macaw, Tornado following.

"Venus!" cried Zephyr. At this, the female macaw stirred at her mate's call and tried to roll over but the pain from her scratched back prevented her from doing so. So Zephyr and Tornado ran around to the front. The moment Venus saw a blue macaw with a blue tuft of feathers and a blue-white head stand in front of her, she gasped.

"Zephyr!" she cried and with that, she opened her wings, flinching at the pain from her bitten wing and hugged her mate. Zephyr returned the hug. Then the two began crying in relief and shared a passionate kiss with Tornado, Falkor and Ámbar looking on. After the two had broken the kiss, Zephyr said, "I thought you would have died in the fire!"

Venus just sighed. She was very traumatised tonight but it was not just from the fire. Then Zephyr began to weep.

"I am so sorry we couldn't find you," he murmured in a strangled voice, "It's all my fault."

"Oh, don't blame yourself, my amado (Spanish for beloved)," said Venus sympathetically, "I was the one who got lost in the fire after being struck by a fleeing bird with my stargazing group and knocked away from them."

"We had to break off the search for you because things had become too dangerous," said Zephyr sadly. He then broke down in tears. Venus hugged him again and Zephyr began crying into her shoulder. Tornado, Falkor and Ámbar looked on. Then after the couple had broken their hug and Zephyr sniffed, Tornado began leaned forward to hug his daughter-in-law, glad that she was safe. He took care not to brush Venus's leaf-bandaged back during the hug for he deduced that she must have been injured there. Then after he had broken the hug with Venus, Tornado began to ask her some questions.

"How did you manage to survive the fire?" he said, "And how did you end up with an injured wing and back?"

"You know I was going to ask her the same question," said Ámbar. Venus sighed and began to explain.

"I took refuge on an island in the middle of what appeared to be the Amazon River based on the river's size. Dozens and dozens of other animals, among them capybaras, monkeys and other birds, were also there too, some with young. We waited until the fire died down and the moment it did and after it started raining heavily, I left the island and flew back into the forest."

"It's a good thing you took refuge out in the Amazon River," said Ámbar, "The space above the river is vast, which serves as a natural barrier against the fire and prevents it from spreading."

"Then… then… then," began Venus but she began to tremble and weep as she remembered what happened next.

"Take your time," said Zephyr. Venus dreaded to tell the group that she had run into a group of every Amazon bird's sworn enemies but she had to.

"I-I-I," she continued, "While I was trying to search for a bird tribe or clan for help, I just happened to run into a small group of… flying foxes."

The moment Venus mentioned this; she flinched at the dreaded and shocked looks on Zephyr, Tornado, Ámbar and Falkor's faces.

"You're JOKING!" Zephyr blurted out incredulously, almost shouting the two words.

"Did you turn away from those furballs?" asked Tornado firmly, "Because remember what I said about them: they are dangerous to us birds and you're not to talk to them for they could attack you."

At this, Venus shook with guilt and regret. Tears sprang into her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Then Falkor said, "Actually, they can attack a bird without provocation. I remember Roberto's family being slaughtered by a group of them and they did nothing to provoke those bats when Roberto had been a youngster."

Venus then began to tell the four macaws what had happened but she dreaded Tornado and Zephyr's reaction and what they might do.

"They began to mock Eduardo's tribe by making fun of how they thought they had died in the previous fire and that it would be fun to watch them get burned alive and all that," she said in a strangled voice, "And I retorted at them to shut up and that if Eduardo ever heard them say that, he would tear them apart but they laughed at that…"

"And then what?" asked Tornado with a frown. Venus began to shudder at the frightening memories of being chased by those savage bats.

"They began to chase me through the jungle but twice they had me cornered on the forest floor. The first time one of them was about to impale me with a sharp-ended stick. I saw that the stick had a cluster of feathers tied to one end, but I managed to defend myself by scratching the flying fox about to kill me across the face and flew on but the second time, I was brutally scratched down the back by the lead flying fox which went by the name of Voldemort…"

The moment Venus mentioned Voldemort's name, shivers ran down Tornado, Zephyr, Falkor and Ámbar's spines.

"Voldemort," repeated Ámbar, "Psychotic bat, he is. Was he the one of those bats that killed Roberto's family when he was a younger bat?"

"Yes," said Falkor darkly, "I remember Roberto telling me that one of those bats had chocolate brown fur and a muscular build. Bloodthirsty furball, he is. He was the one who helped to brutally slaughter Roberto's mother, siblings and cousins, and fatally wounded his father."

"And that explains the long scratches down her back," said Ámbar, "And the tooth marks on her right wing."

"That was done by one of the pups after I was knocked out of the air when I was scratched," said Venus.

"Anyway, continue," said Tornado. So Venus did so.

"After that, I continued to escape those bats until I hid myself by camouflaging myself using mud and some of the burned vegetation for cover. They could not find me, gave up their search and left for their colony's territory, and then I went on my way, but then everything seemed to transform into frightening monsters and I just passed out."

After Venus had finished her explanation of what happened to her from when she had escaped to fire to being found and brought here, Tornado began to speak.

"Well, you did an excellent job in applying what you learned from Eduardo's training to escape those flying furballs, my daughter-in-law," said Tornado firmly, "But I think we need to let Flavio, as well as Demetrio, Reynaldo, Soleado and Alonso know and have them keep a constant eye on the borders nearest to that of the flying fox colony's territory. I believe those bats might have been torn from their colony by the fire as well."

"Will I be evicted from the tribe after disobeying you?" whimpered Venus timidly.

"No," said Tornado, "I'm going to let you off but now you know how dangerous those winged furballs are. I just hope that Voldemort and his group stay within the colony's borders or else they will be killed on the spot if they are ever found on the territory."

"Absolutely," said Falkor seriously, "We can't have any of those flying mammals with minds twisted like the gnarled roots of an old tree roaming these areas. They're a serious danger to all macaws, parakeets and the other birds living here."

"I also hope that those bats continue to believe that the Spix macaw tribe and some of the other bird tribes and clans have not survived the fire as well, therefore, they will not bother Eduardo, Felipe and Valentino's tribes and hopefully the surviving glaucous macaws," said Ámbar. Tornado, Zephyr and Falkor nodded in agreement. Then Venus, after breathing a sigh of relief that she was not going to be evicted from the Spix macaw tribe, asked, "So, how did I end up here?"

"We carried you here," explained Falkor, "We cleaned your back and wing injuries and bandaged them with the large leaves as you can see, but to hear that you managed to escape that group of flying foxes led by that bloodthirsty killer and participant in the slaughter of Roberto's family was some courage."

"Definitely," said Zephyr, "Often, a lone macaw or parakeet never stands a chance against a group of those bats, especially if they are inexperienced, but you seem to be an exception, Venus."

Venus nodded but she promised herself never to go anywhere near those bats again. Then she laid her head back into the moss to rest. Zephyr and Tornado then decided to stay with Venus until dawn for it was still dark and raining out there and Tornado felt it was unsafe to return to the Spix macaw tribe. Then Falkor and Ámbar moved on.

"We're going to tend to the other patients now," said Falkor, "Will you three be alright?"

"We will, thanks," said Tornado, "We're going to be spending the rest of the night here until the rain slows and the sun comes up."

"Yeah," said Zephyr in agreement. Then the milicinth and lutino blue-and-gold macaws smiled and left to help Fedor tend to an orange-winged amazon family, leaving the trio of Spix macaws to rest.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31- more reunions and further good news**

Back in the Spix macaws' ravine, the devastated scenery through the mist of heavy rain around the normally colourful paradise land was dotted with cerulean and blue forms. The Spix macaw tribe had come out of the waterfall cave to inspect the damage the fire had done to their homes, keeping out of the rain. Gael, Viento and Nuvem who had Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Carla, Bia and Tiago in their care came by and examined the burned trees in which the chicks and their parents lived in. They were horrified to see that the trees were each a hollow of blackened wood stripped of their colour and greenery. However, Viento had as glimmer of hope glowing under the gloomy cover of horror.

"The leaves and flowers will grow back in a matter of weeks and months," he said, "Like they always do after a fire."

The others looked at him, faces sombre as they surveyed the damage. Then Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette came by.

"I hope Roberto and his search group are alright," said Mercury. He then looked in the direction where Eduardo and Minmi stood with some inner circle birds by the edge of the waterfall cave's mouth, their eyes swamped with worry and guilt over forgetting the stargazing group.

"And I'm getting seriously worried about him over there," he said pitifully, "Especially Eduardo. He looks absolutely heartbroken and worried about Jewel."

"I'm not surprised," said Sapphire, "Jewel is his only daughter and he loves her dearly. It tore him when the last fire tore Jewel from the Spix macaw tribe and if this fire had done the same to him, he'd probably suffer a…"

She was going to say 'fatal broken heart' but stopped herself from saying it, feeling that it was too inappropriate to mention it, but that might be true. If Jewel was found dead, it was likely that Eduardo might not survive, and the tribe might enter a period of deep depression. Jewel was one of the macaws most loved and respected by the tribe and her loss in the previous fire had caused an awful lot of heartbreak. Eduardo had been through a deep depression tunnel for months before overcoming it eventually but even after around nineteen years since the incident, he still remained remorseful over losing Jewel in the previous fire. Mercury understood what it was like to lose family, especially as a chick. The death of his parents and the disappearance of his three siblings had severely broken him, and Venus had been through the exact same ordeal as well but that had been done at the clutches of a sadistic cockatoo, not a disaster like a fire. Then Nuvem came in, a sombre look on his face. Behind him, Carla, Bia and Tiago peered out.

"Do you think that Jewel and Blu will turn up?" Nuvem asked sadly. Mercury and Sapphire did not know how to answer to this, for they had not been out in the fiery nightmare. Then Sapphire found something to say.

"Well, Roberto and his search party are doing their best," she said, "But they would know if Jewel and Blu are definitely missing."

As she said this, Sunset came by with Eustace, Milo and Rosa. Sunset looked like she had a glimmer of hope sparkling in her eye.

"Well, if Jewel had managed to survive the last fire," she said, "Then there's a possibility that she will have survived this one. I think she would have got to safety and waited until the fire died down. The same for Venus."

"Yeah, but Venus is still new to the tribe," said Nuvem, "So she's still inexperienced. The chances of her surviving out there during and after the fire are pretty slim."

He then stole a glance at Justin and his three siblings standing by Gael and Viento as they talked with a couple of macaws and sighed. "Come to think of it, I hope Venus, Zephyr and Tornado have survived the fire too, otherwise those four are going to be orphans and without a grandpa."

Mercury was about to say something when suddenly, commotion filled the ravine air. At this, the group looked around and saw dozens of blue forms take off and converge towards the ravine entrance.

"What's going on?" asked Sapphire.

"I don't know," said Nuvem, "But it sounds like something very serious."

Then suddenly, Pluto's voice rang out.

"Guys!" shouted Pluto. At this, the group's heads turned and saw a male teal-tinted turquoise and grey glaucous macaw rocket in and then almost crash-land. However, he managed to position his talons in time and skid to a halt before he could land in a tumble.

"What is it, Pluto?" asked Sunset. Then Pluto looked up, out of breath but with joy and excitement shining on his face like a full moon.

"Roberto and his group have returned and they've found two of the five missing macaws!" he said, almost so fast that he sounded like a messy flow of words, but understanding bloomed within Nuvem, and Viento and Gael behind him. At this, Nuvem popped his head up in hopeful joy while Carla, Bia and Tiago's eyes widened. Then the next moment, the whole ravine air was filled with a rapturous cheer. At this, Nuvem and the others turned to the direction of the sound and when they saw Roberto and his group including Travis with two more macaws by their side. Then Pluto blurted out the names of the two missing macaws found.

"It's Blu and Jewel," he said. At this, Nuvem, along with Gael and Viento, looked and saw the two additional macaws, which were indeed the two macaws Pluto had said. Then without another second's hesitation, Nuvem took off, with Viento, Carla, Bia and Tiago following.

"Mom, Dad," cried the three chicks as they shot off, leaving the others including Gael and Justin and his three siblings, standing on the cliff edge to watch the reunion about to unfold. Across the ravine pool and the rain, Eduardo and Mimi continued lamenting over their guilt of forgetting the stargazing group when they also heard the rapturous applause.

"What's going on?" asked Mimi. At this, Eduardo and the other macaws with them looked up and saw the blue crowd gather around a group of certain macaws and a white and yellow bird. Then a 'Daddy!" rang out. Eduardo, at this, raised his eyebrows. Was this all real or a dream?

"Jewel?" he asked. Then a cerulean comet with a jubilant look on her face began to fly towards him. Behind her were a blue macaw with brown eyes and a white cockatoo.

"Daddy!" shouted the macaw at the front.

"Eduardo!" called the brown-eyed male macaw.

"Blu and Jewel are alive!" shouted the cockatoo named Travis.

"Blu? Jewel?" repeated Eduardo confused at first. But then a volcano of joy erupted inside him upon realising that this was definitely not a dream. Yelling the two names of the two macaws, the tribe patriarch clumsily lofted into flight and flew rapidly towards them. Mimi and the other macaws also took off upon seeing Blu and Jewel.

"Daddy!" cried Jewel. Then as soon as the father and daughter collided, they were locked in a tight hug. Then Mimi joined in the hug as well.

"My little wildflower has survived the fire without getting lost this time!" cried Mimi emotionally, "We thought you'd be gone for good again like last time!"

Jewel stole a glance at her and smiled before burying her head into her father's chest feathers to sob. Eduardo also began crying Blu and Travis landed nearby with Roberto, Brisa, Roxie, Maximillian and some other macaws. They looked on with smiles at the tearful reunion. Then Eduardo broke the hug with Jewel and turned to Blu. Then before Blu could protest, Eduardo trapped him in a tight hug.

"E-E-Eduardo, you're embarrassing me," muttered Blu awkwardly as the other macaws applauded. Dotting the ravine, the few glaucous macaws that had taken refuge with the Spix macaws looked on. Jewel looked on with an amused smile.

"You have saved my daughter's life," cried Eduardo with untold relief, "I can't put into words how grateful I am."

Then Eduardo broke the hug with his son-in-law. Embarrassment was written all over Blu's face.

"Honestly, Blu," said Brisa, "You're a hero."

Blu didn't reply as Mimi then suddenly appeared and took him by surprise with a hug of her own.

"You have saved my wildflower," she cried as she literally squeezed Blu in a bone-crushing hug, "I couldn't have asked for a better nephew-in-law."

"Seriously, Mimi, you're making it hard for me to breathe!" squeaked Blu as he squirmed in Mimi's grasp and struggled to draw in a breath. Then Mimi released Blu and apologised.

"Sorry, but I'm so proud of you," cried Jewel's aunt. Blu sighed. Then three small comets flew in.

"MOM, DAD!" cried the three little chicks. At this, Blu and Jewel looked up and saw Carla, Bia and Tiago rush in and then hug them. The family of five then locked each other in a family hug with the others looking on while Travis was joined by Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa. Then Travis had something to say.

"Mars helped escort Blu and Jewel back to your tribe's territory," he said to Eduardo and Mimi, "The two had been taking refuge in a little cave in Felipe's territory according to him…"

"Oh, I'm not surprised," said Eduardo, "You get so easily lost in the fire but I'm glad Felipe sent Mars with Blu and my daughter to be their escort on their way back here. The next time I meet Mars, I'm going to give him a reward for keeping my son-in-law and beloved daughter safe until one of my patrol groups found them."

Travis smiled as Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy touched down, smiles adorning their beaks. Then Pluto remembered the other three Spix macaws that were still missing when he saw Gael, Viento, and Nuvem fly in with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil.

"Oh, Roberto," he said.

"Yes," said Roberto, turning to the male glaucous macaw. His head feathers swung with his head turn.

"Any news on Zephyr, Tornado and Venus?" asked Pluto. Roberto, at this, made a sombre face and shook his head.

"I'm afraid we haven't," he said sadly, "We only found Blu and Jewel with Mars by their sides but no signs of Zephyr, Venus or Tornado. We asked Mars the same question but he replied that he, Felipe, Jupiter and the others had only found Blu and Jewel and that's it."

At this, Gael, Viento and Nuvem, along with Brisa made sad faces and looked away. Justin and his four siblings also began to weep with Blu and his reunited family looking on sympathetically. At the back of the crowd, Mertle with her only daughter Aguamarina just gave Jewel and her family a grateful but deadpan stare before flying off. Though they were glad that Jewel had made a safe return, the two maintained their dislike of the patriarch's daughter, her mate and her three chicks.

"The other search groups will be searching high and low in our territory for those three," said Maximillian, as Turquesa walked in and happily jumped into his wings, joyful that her father had returned with the other patrollers. He scooped her up in his wings and held her. "Hopefully we'll have good news from one of them when they get back…"

As he said this, a voice sounded from above, making them all jump.

"They've already been found," said the voice. At this, Eduardo and the others all looked up and to their surprise, they found two large hyacinth macaws, one a blue-eyed male, descend from above and touch down near them. They both blew up some of the charred wood and dust from the draught of air kicked up by their large wings as they landed.

"Neptune!" gasped Travis, Sunset, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Mercury, Sapphire and Blu and Jewel at the same time. Neptune then saw Blu and Jewel.

"Blu, Jewel," he cried jubilantly, "Thank goodness you both are alright."

Jewel sighed. "I was a crying and trembling wreck while we were flying through the fire, though. It didn't half bring back a torrent of bad memories but if it weren't for Blu here, I'd have probably lost the tribe again or ended up dead."

Blu smiled and blushed, grateful that he had risked his life to save his beloved mate much to Neptune's surprise. Then Eduardo stepped in but before he could ask why Neptune and the other macaw, another male named Jeremy who had chosen to go with Neptune for he was more experienced and wanted to keep an eye on Neptune who still had lack of experience in the jungle and made sure he was safe, Neptune gave the reply.

"Flavio has sent some hyacinth macaw groups from his clan out to check on the other tribes and clans," he explained, "I have also come here to let you know that we have found Zephyr, Venus and Tornado. They are in Falkor's cave on the Navyfeather Clan's territory but they will not return here until morning as they are all exhausted from this hectic and chaotic night…"

When Gael, Brisa, Nuvem, Viento and Justin and his three siblings heard this, they breathed a sigh of total relief. Roberto, Mercury, Pluto, Travis and the others were also relieved.

"Well, at least that worry's been cleared," said Eduardo with relief as well.

"Yeah," said Mimi, "She's only been with us for a few weeks and I greatly doubted her survival out there."

She then felt a twinge of guilt at forgetting the stargazing group prick at her again and she sighed. "We would have never forgiven ourselves if that poor girl was ever found dead or lost, especially after what she had been through as a chick."

"How much damage did your clan's territory suffer? A lot?" asked Eduardo.

"Only a fraction of our territory's been burned," said Jeremy, Neptune's escort, "Thankfully, the fire had not spread as far as our home patch as it had begun to rain which helped to put the fire out and stop it spreading any further. However, we retreated into our evacuation cave just in case."

Then Rudi, the leader of the glaucous macaw tribe, walked in with Valeria holding the still young Alberto and Lorenzo in her wings. Neptune and Jeremy were hit by surprise when they saw Rudi's family before turning their eyes and seeing some more glaucous macaws dotting the Spix macaws' ravine. But before either of the hyacinth macaws could ask, Eduardo stopped them.

"It's a long story," he said, gesturing to Rudi and his family and some of the glaucous macaws behind him, "But put short, these macaws have survived the flying fox attack."

"But how!?" retorted Jeremy incredulously, "It's nearly impossible for a large part of a tribe or clan of birds to survive being slaughtered by an attacking wave of those barbaric flying furballs. Also, how did these glaucous macaws…"

"That fire took us by surprise and we ended up flying into here," explained Rudi, "Many of the others in my tribe, however, I don't know where they've flown to which is why I have sent search groups out to see where they had gone."

Neptune, however, was still lost for words. Finally, he found something to say.

"Tulio and his team should be alerted of these macaws' existence at once," he said to Eduardo, Blu and Jewel. Rudi, at this, was about to protest when suddenly, six glaucous macaws appeared. They had been outside the Spix macaws' ravine on the search for the other glaucous macaws and had returned to deliver the report.

"Report on the other glaucous macaws, Santiago," said Rudi to one of them. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy looked on.

"We have found most of the other glaucous macaws hiding with a flock of Lear's macaws, green macaws and blue-and-gold macaws," said Santiago, "The other groups are rounding them up now and will be leading them to meet us somewhere here but they are going to be escorted by some Lear's, green and blue-and-gold macaws…"

"Alright, brilliant, Santiago," said Rudi gladly, "You fly out and prepare to meet them and their escorts and then we'll discuss what we'll do next."

Santiago and his five companions nodded and left. Pluto saw them leave.

"Looks like that fire certainly has forced you out of your vulnerable spot," he said to Rudi. Rudi then breathed a sigh and sat down.

"Well, one thing is," he muttered, "We're never going to go back there again. It's just too unsuitable to be living out there. Why didn't I see that or listen in the first place?"

At this, Eduardo, Blu, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Mercury and Travis smiled upon hearing this. Valeria also smiled. Then Rudi had another thought.

"Which begs the question," he said, "Where are we going to live? We can't live here since this place belongs to this flock of Spix macaws by the looks of it…"

"I wouldn't have thought that you guys have survived the previous fire," said Valeria to Eduardo, Mimi, Blu and Jewel.

"We did but Jewel and a family of some other macaws from our tribe were separated," said Mimi, to which Gael and Brisa sighed, remembering that nightmarish incident. "They've returned now but we almost lost Jewel again in this fire and a newcomer called Venus was also separated from a group of macaws out stargazing. I'm glad she's been found."

Rudi then looked up at Eduardo and said, "I hope you can forgive me for being obnoxious and arrogant when we met a few days ago but… you were right about us living out there. It is just too open to being destroyed by loggers and not a bird tribe or clan could call home…"

As he said this, Valeria who had the still-young Alberto and Lorenzo in her wings, smiled even wider, her mate having finally opened his eyes and swallowed his stubborn pride about the living conditions the glaucous macaw tribe had to deal with for years. Lapis Lazuli also smiled. It was clear that the fire had finally shocked some sense into this present glaucous macaw tribe patriarch.

"Well, why didn't you just come to any of us for help?" asked Eduardo with a frown, "after losing your home to those pesky flying foxes? We would have hosted you temporarily until you could find another home of your own."

"We didn't want to bother you and cause competition for space and food," said Rudi. He then scanned the sea of blue birds. "And besides, your tribe has well over two-hundred members and there is probably only enough food on your territory to feed them all. Additional hundred or more birds or so would deplete those food sources very quickly…"

As he said this, Neptune began to think.

"And besides," said Valeria, "We thought you Spix macaws had perished in that fiery disaster anyway. The green and Lear's tribes were still quarrelling with each other and…"

"A clan of hyacinth macaws would have helped had you asked for it," said Jeremy, "Why didn't you do that rather than secretly move out into that exposed spot? Is it any wonder we believed that you glaucous macaws had been slaughtered."

"But what can you hyacinth macaws do?" asked Rudi, "You don't have anywhere for us to permanently live…"

When Neptune heard Rudi say this, an idea formulated in his head. He remembered that the Navyfeathers had that large grouping of still-unoccupied trees just outside the clan's home patch. That group of trees was big enough to house a large clan or even a small tribe of birds.

"That's it," he said. He turned to Rudi and Valeria and said, "I believe I may have the solution to that problem."

"What do you mean?" asked Jeremy. But then understanding washed over him. Rudi and Valeria, however, were perplexed.

"Oh, I get it," said Jeremy, "That large cluster of unoccupied trees. I'd never thought of that."

"Rudi," said Neptune, "How many macaws are there in your tribe?"

"About a hundred to a hundred and fifty," replied Rudi, "Excluding chicks. Why do you ask?"

"We have a large cluster of trees just outside our home patch," said Jeremy, "And our territory is very large with an awful lot of food. We've been longing for another bird tribe or clan to move in with us so that the trees could be used."

"You mean... you want us to live with you?" asked Valeria.

"I suggest you take it," said Mimi, "One, you'll be on the Sanctuary de Amazon, safe from the destruction caused by logging and poaching and two, you'll have more protection and help from the much larger hyacinth macaws. I know the blue-throated macaw clan has that support from the Bluewing Clan…"

Rudi and Valeria then turned their eyes to Eduardo who nodded in agreement.

"It's a very good idea," he said, "And I agree with my sister. You should definitely take it."

Then Pluto and Lapis Lazuli smiled.

"I think that's an excellent idea," said Lapis Lazuli.

"Yeah, definitely," said Pluto, "certainly for a flock of extremely rare and critically endangered macaws like ourselves."

Rudi and Valeria then turned to look at Jeremy and Neptune and then at Blu, Jewel their chicks, then at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and their chicks, and then at Travis and his family. Tension then rose in the air above them as Rudi thought about this, especially for Lapis Lazuli and Pluto. But that tension was eased when Rudi made a smile on his beak.

"I like that idea," he said, "I'll have a look at this cluster of trees and see where we'll go from there."

This was met by a joyful and silent cheer from Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and smiles from the others around Rudi and his family. But Rudi had other priorities.

"But first, I need to gather my tribe and check to see which macaws are missing," said Rudi.

"Alright, you do that," said Jeremy, "And what we'll do is we'll have a word with Flavio and he'll give you a tour around the area. After that and if you like it, we'll help your tribe move in but first we have some unfinished business to deal with as we are still in the aftermath of the fire."

"Yes, you might want to stay here for a bit," said Neptune. He looked up into the still cloud-filled sky and rain. "It's still night-time and raining at the moment and we're still trying to survey the damage caused by the fire."

He then turned back to Eduardo, Mimi, Blu and the others and said, "But I think it's time for us to head over to check on Felipe's tribe to see how they are doing. I'm so glad that Blu and Jewel have been found and returned safely and you no longer have to worry about Venus, Zephyr and Tornado. They'll be back after sunrise."

"Thanks for bring us the news, Neptune," said Mercury. Neptune smiled as he accepted the thanks.

"You take care and be careful of any unstable trees," said Mimi, "And also, make sure you send Flavio our thanks for finding our other three missing tribe members."

Neptune smiled and nodded.

"And when we get back to the Navyfeathers' territory," said Jeremy, looking at Rudi and his family, "We'll have a word with Flavio and see what he'll do but in the meantime, you might want to stay here in the safety of the Spix macaws' ravine with your tribe once they have been gathered. Anyway, we'd better go. We have a job to do."

And with that, the two large navy blue macaws opened their wings and took off. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago waved.

"Take care, Neptune," called Blu.

"We'll meet again after we have finished sifting through this mess," said Travis. Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also waved.

"Maybe we could have an outing with our families sometime?" called Sapphire who stood by Mercury and Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy also stood by the Lear's macaw family. The group continued waving until Neptune and Jeremy disappeared over the ravine cliff and were gone. Roberto saw them leave.

"I've been told how awesome Falkor, Ámbar and Fedor and their team are in looking after birds in distress," he said.

"Yeah, that milicinth macaw is excellent," said Eduardo, "A real help indeed. I bet he and his group are busy with helping so many distressed birds tonight. There'll be a lot of them needing medical attention and looking after. Anyway, I'm going to help some of my macaws survey the damage caused by the fire."

Then he turned round and flew off. Jewel then leaned onto Blu who leaned onto her crown in return. Carla, Bia and Tiago stood around them. Jewel was a lot calmer than she had been around an hour ago. Being safely returned to the ravine had relieved a lot of the stress and panic that boiled within her when she was lost. She was not only grateful of Blu rescuing her but also of the red tribe, especially Mars who had escorted them back. It was clear that Mars knew the way quite well despite still being new to the jungle. Felipe had already showed him an accurate tour of the red tribe's territory and that of the Spix macaws, and that the main landmark marking the red/Spix border was the Brazil nut grove. Mars had that firmly in his mind when he escorted the couple back to the Spix macaws' territory.

The rain continued pouring down heavily on the parched and incinerated forest and much of the other parts of Brazil. In Rio, it was raining but far lighter than in the Amazon rainforest. However, a group of certain humans were getting ready for some very early morning work. Tulio and his team were at Tulio's Aviary preparing to leave for the Amazon. They were going to use special helicopters to fly to the Amazon but the flight had been delayed due to the weather. Though the fire had now been put out, it was still not very safe to fly helicopters into the darkness of the storm due to visibility issues. However, Tulio and his team continued to prepare and will be making the journey as soon as the signal was given that the rains had slowed. In Manaus, another team of humans were also preparing to fly out into the Amazon but had also been delayed due to the storm. They were standing by also, waiting for the signal from the weather officials to go out when it was safe to do so and when the rains eased. While these events happened in Rio and Manaus, in the Navyfeather Clan's territory and Falkor and his group's cave, activity had eased as many of the birds in the infirmary had gone to sleep. Fedor and Ámbar had also gone to sleep for they had been very hard at work, but Falkor was still awake, helping to keep an eye on the patients. On one corner, he looked after the six glaucous macaw chicks and the adolescent who had been found in the fire for they were restless. It was unsurprising since the seven had had a traumatising ordeal in the fire. A few of the other birds were also restless. They too were also traumatised and Falkor's helpers, mostly parakeets were trying their best to calm them. Outside the cave, the rains continued pouring heavily and thunder kept sounding. The fresh smell of the rains wafted into the cave through the perforations in the walls and ceiling. It truly was a comforting smell, especially after the awful stench of burnt wood from the fire. However, it did little to relieve the still simmering shock of the birds. While most of the other birds struggled to sleep, one macaw was particularly restless. Venus, who still lay in her nest with her back and right wing bandaged with freshly replaced large leaves, was tossing and turning. Nearby, Zephyr and Tornado were lying against the cave wall in another pile of moss and feathers, trying to rest. They were only dozing, not sleeping. While the father and son continued resting in that spot, Venus tried lying on her left side again. She could not lie on her back due to the wound which always sent searing pain coursing through the pigtailed macaw's back whenever she tried lying with her belly up. Her wing was also crying in agony and Venus kept flinching and gasping every time pain emitted from it. Venus still looked very tense besides in pain, but she also felt very restless. As she rolled over onto her right side, yelping briefly in pain as her injured right wing brushed against the floor, Zephyr opened his eyes and looked up at her. Tornado stirred and moved only slightly. Seeing Venus toss and turn like a dog irritated by fleas Zephyr, filled with concern got up from his father's side and walked slowly over to her.

"Are you alright, Venus?" he asked. Venus, hearing her mate's voice, sat up and turned in his direction.

"I'm fine," she whispered, "Just struggling to sleep."

"I'm not surprised," said Zephyr as he sat beside her, "It's been a frightening and traumatising night for you as it is for us."

He then bowed his head and sighed. "I thought I was gonna lose you and when we had to break off the search due to the immense dangers of the fire, I was severely heartbroken. Then to hear that you had a disturbing encounter with some of those flying furballs, I was even more horrified."

Zephyr then lifted his head up. "I would honestly have never forgiven myself if something ever happened to you, like if you got killed or separated from us like Jewel and I and my family did when we were young."

"It's not your fault," said Venus firmly. She then flinched and lifted her left wing and gently stroked her back, her eyes narrowed with pain.

"And to add to the trauma, the injuries in my wing and back aren't helping either," she muttered, "Every time I try to relax, they sting and jolt me awake again."

Zephyr, at this, reached out a wing and touched Venus's forehead to comfort her, tears forming and running down his face. But then he noticed something unusual about the feel of Venus's forehead as he stroked it.

"You feel a bit warm," said Zephyr in a low and concerned voice, "I hope it's not a fever…"

"Oh, don't be dramatic;" said Venus slightly annoyed, "It's just that… I've been flying super-fast through the rainforest before collapsing in terror."

Zephyr sighed and retracted his wing from her forehead. Then he had another thought come to his head.

"Look," he said in a low voice, briefly glancing at a family of festive amazons as they slept nearby, making sure that they weren't disturbed by their talking. "Our human friends will be coming over to the Amazon to help treat any animal that had been injured in the fire. When they do, I'm going to carry you to them and they will hopefully help to treat your wounds. Then we'll be going back to the Spix macaw tribe and be reunited with our family and friends, especially our four children Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Those four have been without their parents for hours now."

Zephyr then briefly stopped to listen to the rains outside. "It's obviously still raining outside at the moment, so obviously those humans aren't going to be coming here right now…"

"I hope they come here near sunrise," muttered Venus as she raised her wing to her forehead, "I'm starting to feel a bit… unwell…"

Zephyr shot her a concerned stare. "Unwell?"

"It's nothing serious," said Venus when she saw the look on Zephyr's face, "It's probably just a cold. I have been exposed to the rain quite a lot. Maybe that's why I have this chill…"

"Well, I hope it's nothing serious," said Zephyr. He then shot a glance at Tornado who was still resting. "Anyway, you try and get some rest and we'll see you in the morning. Right now, I'm very tired. It's been a chaotic night."

But before he could get up and return to his father's side, Venus interlocked her wing with his. At this, Zephyr turned round. Venus's amber eyes then glowed with affection.

"I'd like to thank you for trying to find and rescue me in that fire," she said in a low voice, "It was really brave."

Zephyr sighed. "But still, it wasn't enough. We should have found you sooner…"

But then he found himself captured by his mate's beautiful amber eyes, amber like the rising or setting sun. Then Venus leaned forward and moved her beak closer to Zephyr's, despite the stinging pain emanating from her bitten wing and scratched back. When Zephyr saw Venus move in toward his face, he moved in as well. Then as soon as the two macaws' faces met, their beaks interlocked and they shared a very loving kiss. After breaking the kiss, the couple stared lovingly into each other's eyes, Zephyr's an emerald green and Venus's a golden, liquid amber.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32- one more worry and conclusion**

The light of the morning finally came at last. However, the skies were still flooded with cloud but the rain had slowed from a torrential downpour to a reasonable drizzle. As the light of the rising sun grew brighter and chased away the final darkness of the night of the disaster caused by the fire, Tulio and his team in Rio, and the team of humans in Manaus had finally received the signal to go out into the jungle for the rains had eased off. So the two human groups did just that. They had boarded their helicopters and had flown to the Amazon rainforest. While the sun was coming up, they had set up a makeshift mini-hospital in a deforested area of the rainforest, exactly where the Spix macaws and many of the other animals had their epic fight against the loggers. The helicopters themselves had been designed as a special air ambulance and had their own medical equipment, used for transporting truly injured animals to the animal hospital in Manaus for treatment. As the humans set up their mini hospital in the clearing with sheets erected and spread out over the 'rooms' to keep them dry, some macaw scouts from the macaw tribes and clans had seen them and had flown away to alert their leaders. Though very few to no macaws in the Spix, red, blue-and-gold, Lear's and green tribes, and the blue-throated macaw clan and the two hyacinth macaw clans the Bluewings and the Navyfeathers, were injured, quite a number of glaucous macaws were. Then as soon as word had reached the ears of the leaders of the tribes and clans including Rudi and Valeria, who had gathered the surviving macaws of their tribe back together to prepare to move into the unoccupied trees with the Navyfeathers, the tribe and clan leaders prepared to take their casualties to the humans. It had taken a lot of convincing of Rudi to take the injured macaws in his tribe to the humans for treatment for he was still fearful of them but at Eduardo's gentle convincing, he reluctantly relented. This was a good thing since it would confirm the existence of his tribe's species and that they will be immediately added to the Sanctuary de Amazon. So while Valeria had some of his tribe members take the casualties to the humans, Rudi was led by Flavio to check the cluster of trees to see if he would like it. While the other macaws and the human biologists and vets prepared to go to work, as the sun rose, the extent of the damage caused by the fire last night was brought to light.

In the darkness of the night, the forest had looked terrible but now in the light of the morning, the full extent of the damage can be seen even better. A vast area of the rainforest's trees had been reduced to nothing more than blackened trunks and skeletal-like structures stripped entirely of colour, among them green. The undergrowth looked like it had a fire-breathing dragon that had gone on the rampage through it with its fire breath. A large amount of shrubs and ferns had been reduced to nothing more than charred skeletal structures or a pile of black ash or burned material. Smoke still continued rising lazily from the charred vegetation here and there but any clumps of flame had finally extinguished. The burned areas smothered the entire area occupied by the Lear's macaws, the blue-and-gold macaws and the green macaws, and a very large part of the Spix and the red macaws' territory had burned vegetation where the fire had spread, including the trees and the holes in the cliff faces of the Lear's macaws' ravine where the macaws called home. As for the territories of the Navyfeather Clan and the Bluewings and blue-throated macaw clans, only a small fraction of their trees had been burned but thankfully, their home trees had been untouched, and part of the flying fox colony's territory also had burned trees. However, the devastation caused by the fire will soon fade as the rainforest will be recovering in the coming months like how it had always done. However, some parts were already recovering. The lakes, rivers and the soil, which had been so depleted of water due to the drought, were now being replenished by the rains, but the con traction of the water bodies' sizes and the receding of the waterline had been unbelievable. The waterfall of the Spix tribe's ravine had shrunken while the stream that ran through the Lear's macaws' ravine was almost nothing more than a trickle. However, with the help of the rains, these water features will soon be rested. While the macaws and the other birds living on the Sanctuary de Amazon prepared to carry their casualties to the human doctors for treatment, in Falkor's cave, some of Flavio's clan members had come to help Falkor take some of the birds too injured to be treated to the humans as well. However, one particular macaw did not seem very well at all. While some of the birds in the large cavity of the cave were being taken away to the hyacinth macaws waiting outside by Falkor's parakeet helpers, Fedor and Ámbar had gone to check on Venus. Zephyr and Tornado were still asleep, resting in a pile of moss against the cave wall not too far away. Ámbar checked on a Jandayan parakeet (not the one Soleado's tribe of blue-and-gold macaws had found injured by some flying foxes) treated for minor injuries and to her gladness, the parakeet seemed well enough to leave and not receive treatment from the humans.

"How is that parakeet doing, Ámbar?" asked Fedor the hoatzin.

"Very well," said Ámbar, "She's ready to leave."

While she began to talk with the parakeet, Fedor went over to Venus. However, when he approached the Spix macaw's side, he noticed that something was not quite right with Venus at all. Venus looked horribly weak and her feathers were flat against her body. Her breathing was laboured and she seemed to be quivering. At this, Fedor, a horrible thought blooming within him, raised a wing and touched Venus's forehead to check her temperature. However, the moment he did this, his brown eyes widened in horror.

"Ámbar," said the hoatzin. The lutino blue-and-gold macaw turned round. "Venus's forehead is hot to the touch!"

At this, Ámbar scuttled over to Venus's side and touched Venus's forehead to check for herself. The moment she did, her eyes widened with worry. Venus's head felt like as hot as a piece of freshly burned wood but then Ámbar noticed something else. Venus looked in pain, her breathing was quick, her feathers flat and she was trembling.

"Get Falkor here, quick," commanded Ámbar, "While I wake Zephyr and Tornado."

Fedor nodded and left to fetch the milicinth macaw while Ámbar hurried over to Zephyr and Tornado and quickly nudged them. At this, the father and son stirred and groggily turned round to face Ámbar.

"What is it?" groaned Tornado. Zephyr let a yawn escape his beak and opened his wings to stretch.

"It's Venus," replied Ámbar, her pale pink eyes swamped with worry, "She's got a high temperature!"

The moment the two male Spix macaws' brains picked up these words, their grogginess was replaced by concern. Zephyr immediately jumped out of the moss and hurried over to Venus's side to place a wing on her forehead. Tornado and Ámbar followed. When Zephyr felt how hot Venus's forehead was he began to tremble.

"Oh, no," he murmured. Then the pattering of two pairs of talons, one small and the other large, reached their ears. Fedor and Falkor had entered the scene and when Falkor saw the horrified and worried looks on Ámbar, Zephyr and Tornado's faces as Zephyr retracted his wing, he immediately went over to check Venus's forehead himself. As he placed a wing on her forehead and felt it burning, Falkor's eyes widened.

"She's got a fever," he said, withdrawing her wing. He then checked her breathing rate. Zephyr then began to quiver more violently despite Tornado's attempts to calm him down.

"I d-don't understand," he stammered as stress once again took hold of his body, "When I checked her temperature last night, it was just lukewarm. She claimed it to just be a cold she must have caught while flying through the forest in the rain and I believed her."

"What other symptoms did she display?" asked Falkor.

"She was restless, unable to sleep," said Zephyr, "Honestly; I think it could be a cold…"

Falkor, at this, made a firm looking face. Disagreement clearly glinted in his eyes. When Zephyr saw this, he was confused.

"You don't agree with me?" he murmured. Falkor confirmed it with a shake of his head.

"It's definitely not a cold," he said firmly, "Her fever's too high, her breathing is shallow and laboured and she is trembling and weak. Those are symptoms of something much more serious."

The moment Zephyr and Tornado's ears picked up these words, their beaks dropped open. Then Falkor turned to Ámbar and said, "Have you checked her wounds, I have a bad feeling about this."

Ámbar and Fedor, at this, looked at each other and walked over to Venus's leaf-bandaged back and right wing to remove the leaves. Tornado and Zephyr could only watch as the lutino blue-and-gold macaw and hoatzin carefully rolled Venus onto her front and then set to work at untying the vines used to keep the leaves onto her back and wing. The moment the coverings came off and were tossed aside, Ámbar drew in a sharp, horrified gasp while Fedor backed away with eyes wide and beak agape, stricken. Falkor came in and also gasped.

"Oh, no," he murmured in horror. Zephyr and Tornado then came over and when their eyes landed on the scratches marking Venus's back and the tooth marks on her wing, their eyes widened in horror too. Five or six streaks ran down Venus's back from near the back of her head to the base of her tail, similar to the claw marks on a tree made by a jaguar. The bony part of her right wing was dotted with tooth punctures where that bat pup had bitten her, but both looked very bad. Before Ámbar and some parakeet assistants had set to treating the wounds, they had been mostly red and pink, fresh, blazing and angry, but now, they had more colour to them. The edges of the scratches and tooth marks were lined with a sickly, crusty substance, coloured pale green-yellow, and a milky white substance oozed out of some of their places, particularly from the scratches. The centre of the scratches were still red and pink but the area covered by them had been reduced by the additional, more grotesque colouring, and the wounds had a foul smell to them. Falkor immediately knew that this meant only one thing.

"Her wounds have become infected," he whispered. This was met by disbelief from Fedor and Ámbar, and also shock and fear from Tornado and Zephyr.

"No," gasped Tornado while Ámbar became confused.

"B-b-but I don't understand," stammered the lutino blue-and-gold macaw, "We've thoroughly cleaned the wounds of the dirt that had got into them with fresh rainwater and applied fresh leaves to them, which we replaced regularly throughout the night."

"How come they have become infected?" asked Fedor. Falkor shot the hoatzin and lutino blue-and-gold an equally confused glare, before moving his glance from them two to the two Spix macaws. Zephyr was deathly pale and he looked he was about to faint any moment. Seeing his mate with this new threat was beginning to pump his body with adrenaline again, and Tornado was also equally worried. At first, they couldn't understand how Venus's wounds had become infected but then Zephyr remembered Venus's explanation of how she managed to survive the fire and what happened in between that and her being found by Falkor and some of his assistants.

"Could anything have got into her wounds before we found her?" asked Falkor. Zephyr immediately answered the question.

"Well, she did say that as those flying foxes chased her through the jungle intent on killing her, Venus got scratched by their leader and a bat pup had bitten her. After that, she was forced to coat herself in mud and camouflage from those bats. Maybe that could have something to do with it?"

As he said this, Falkor, Tornado, Ámbar and Fedor's eyes all widened. That seemed to have explained a lot. When Venus had been chased by Voldemort and his gang, her life was in mortal danger. Shortly after being scratched by Voldemort and bitten by one of the pups, Venus had been forced to coat herself with mud to utilise camouflage to escape the bats and because she had so little time in doing so, she did not focus on her injuries when she applied the mud. Mud may be an effective camouflage tool, but it was not very hygienic if a macaw had open wounds. It was possible that Venus had got bacteria from the mud into her wounds, but that might not be all. A flying fox's foot claws were not very hygienic either since they often walk around and always use them to hang from trees. Voldemort could have had his foot claws in anything: soil, mud, even near animal carcases, and the bat pup that had bitten Venus didn't have a very healthy oral hygiene either. As realisation dawned upon the five as they stared at the infected claw marks on Venus's back and tooth marks on her wing, Falkor broke the silence.

"We need to get her to the humans and quick," he said urgently as he saw Venus beginning to breathe harder and twist her face in pain. Infected wounds like the ones on Venus's back and wing, can be deadly, fatal if not treated quickly. By now Zepohnyr was having a panic attack. The skin under his blue-white and blue feathers was pale and he was finding it hard to breathe. Tornado tried to calm him down.

"Breathe, son," said Tornado gently but Zephyr still continued hyperventilating.

"I can't," he cried and he began to tremble and sob, shouting Venus's name. Falkor then immediately opened his large wings, took off and carefully wrapped his large talons around the weak Venus's wings.

"I'll be the one to take her to the humans," he said as he gently picked her up.

"But I wanna take her," protested Zephyr but Falkor was insistent that he do the job.

"No, I'll take her," he said, "I'm almost twice the size of you and have bigger wings, and macaws with big wings can cover more distance than smaller macaws like you Spix macaws. Therefore, I can get her to the humans quicker than you can."

Then without another second's hesitation, he left with Venus toward the entrance/exit tunnel, calling "Excuse me', emergency coming through."

Fedor, Ámbar, Tornado and the panicky Zephyr followed as the parakeet helpers diverged to let Falkor through. Then soon, Falkor emerged from the entrance to the cave and was outside. The moment he emerged, he took to the air, carrying Venus with him. The four smaller birds took off and followed. As Falkor then began to rush Venus to the humans, he passed by a few familiar hyacinth macaws and a glaucous macaw. They were Neptune, Marinho and Flavio, and Pluto. Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo, and Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy were back in the home patch of the Navyfeather Clan, helping the glaucous macaw tribe move into their new home. When Flavio saw Falkor, his face morphed into a look of surprise when he saw the milicinth macaw begin to rocket off with a bundle of maya blue feathers in his talons.

"Falkor?" he asked. Falkor shot him a glare.

"No time to stop and explain everything, Flavio," he replied, "Venus is not well at all and needs medical attention from those humans fast!"

And with that, he shot off as fast as he could, a green and teal blur with blue tipped wings and tail. Neptune, Marinho and Pluto hovered with perplexed looks on their faces when suddenly; two blue and blue-white blurs appeared and shot by. Zephyr and Tornado, too focussed on Venus and Falkor, did not acknowledge their three friends and just rocketed on.

"What's going on?" asked Neptune. Then Fedor and Ámbar appeared.

"Venus has been injured," explained Ámbar, "She has a large scratch on her back and a bite on her right wing, but both of those wounds have become infected."

"Oh, no," cried Flavio in disbelief. Marinho, Neptune and Pluto reacted with a horrified flinch and gasp each.

"So Falkor is rushing her to those humans that had come to help us treat our casualties," said Fedor. Turning to Neptune, he said, "You might want to return to the Spix tribe's ravine and let them know, especially Tornado's family and Zephyr and Venus's chicks that Venus won't be coming back to the ravine this morning. We had hoped that she would be well enough to return to Eduardo's tribe but… due to the condition she is in, that's been delayed."

Neptune, at this, looked at Flavio and then turned round. "Okay, I'll let Eduardo know right away."

And with that, he was gone. Then Pluto began to ask a thousand questions.

"But how did Venus end up with infected wounds?" he asked, "How?"

"It's a long story," said Fedor, cutting him off, "But to cut that short, she had been attacked by a few of those flying furballs from that deranged Cicatriz's colony, after the fire had been calmed, and they scratched and bit her."

When Flavio, Marinho and Pluto heard this, they gasped again. Then Flavio's horror was replaced by rage. However, he managed to control his temper as Ámbar said, "We believe those flying foxes that had attacked Venus might have been torn from the colony by that fire as one of the blue-throated macaws that had helped to bring in an injured toucan family told us that the fire had spread into their patch as well."

"Well, we'll let them off this once," said Flavio with a low growl, but he was trembling with rage at what had happened to Venus, "But if any of those flying furballs are ever caught on ANY of our territories, I'm going to advise the other macaw tribes and clans who catch them to aggressively drive them out and that if those bats refuse to comply, kill them."

"We've had a report of a flying fox attack on a Jandayan parakeet from the blue-and-gold macaws as well," said Ámbar, "Thankfully it happened outside the blue-and-gold tribe's territory border but Soleado has been sending patrol groups to keep an eye on it just in case."

"Well, that's good," said Marinho, shuddering at what Venus must have been through at the clutches of those flying foxes. Pluto also quivered as he remembered Lapis Lazuli's story. Then Fedor stole a glance at the busy infirmary cave.

"Anyway, we'd better get back to work," he said, "Our assistants will be needing our help for we still have quite a few casualties to deal with."

Ámbar nodded in agreement and with that, the duo turned round to leave in the direction of the cave. As they did this, a hyacinth macaw came in with six glaucous macaw chicks and an adolescent. They were the same seven youngsters Zephyr and Tornado had found during their search for Venus in the fire. When Flavio saw the seven young glaucous macaws, he said, "I believe those seven are from Rudi's tribe, are they, Pedro?"

"Yes," said Pedro, Victor's father, looking down at the seven youngsters, "They were found by Zephyr and Tornado according to Falkor and Neptune and had brought them here. They just need taking back to the glaucous macaw tribe."

"Great," said Flavio with a nod.

"I'll do that," said Marinho and with that, he commanded the seven young glaucous macaws to follow him. Obediently, the six chicks and adolescent followed Flavio's nephew and they left for the Navyfeathers' home patch. Pluto smiled as he watched them leave.

"I'm so glad that Rudi likes that cluster of trees and that his tribe is moving in smoothly, Flavio," he said, "It's large enough to house his tribe with room to spare, and there is plenty of food to support both of us and your clan, and the glaucous macaws will be safe from the touch of loggers and poachers."

"It was an excellent idea Neptune had," said Flavio gratefully, "At least those trees and the surplus food will get used. Though we hyacinth macaws do need quite a lot of food compared to the smaller macaw species, we have an _awful_ lot of food in our territory, so much that we always have loads and loads left over. But that surplus will be enough to feed Rudi's tribe."

"Lapis Lazuli is very happy as well," said Pluto joyfully, "As am I. Our chicks will be surrounded by friends and will get to visit Neptune's family every day, and the chicks of Rudi's tribe will get to play with the chicks from your clan and have no more worries about inheriting the awful conditions the glaucous tribe had before."

"Interestingly enough, I'd never thought that so many glaucous macaws had managed to escape the siege on their home by those barbaric bats," said Pedro, "It's amazing really. Rudi must have been very prepared for such an event. Normally, bird tribes and clans don't stand much of a chance against a huge wave of attacking flying foxes."

"Venus only got a taste of what it was like to be attacked by those dog-faced furballs," said Flavio, "But that is nothing compared to what the glaucous macaws and the red-fronted macaw clan faced…"

He then sighed and stared into the unburnt trees and said, "I just hope Falkor gets Venus to those humans in time before those infected wounds kill her."

Pluto and Pedro nodded in agreement.

A good while later, the makeshift animal hospital tents were in full activity. A variety of animals, monkeys, capybaras, and various species of birds had been found and brought in by Tulio and the other humans to be treated. Among them were Susan and Lucy for they had been called to help. While the humans were up to their work, a news report team had also touched down to shoot the footage. Back in Rio, in Susan and Lucy's home, Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina and their offspring, the puppies Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny and kittens Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas, watched the TV. They had been put under the care of a neighbour by Susan and Lucy before they left for Tulio's Aviary, so the neighbour was in charge of looking after the house and the pets while the two women were away. The neighbour also watched the TV as the news began to play.

"Well, after that devastating fire last night," said the newswoman to a camera in the medical treatment setup area, "It seems that the majority of the animals on the Sanctuary de Amazon had managed to survive. We have had reports from the air filming team that the flocks of Spix macaws, the Lear's macaws, the green macaws and the other flocks have also survived the fire…"

"Yes," said Veggie with utter joy. That joy also washed through the other cats and dogs.

"It's almost like a miracle," said Dash, "In a fire like that, a flock of birds often don't stand much of a chance."

"They must have taken refuge somewhere," said Ginger.

"Tulio ought to be relieved," said Catina. As if on cue, the camera pointed to Tulio and Linda who were among the dozens of humans helping to treat the injured animals. Fernando, Jack and Jill were also there, visible through the gap between Tulio and Linda as the two began to express their joy at the news.

"Yes, thanks, Alexandra," said Tulio, a wide smile clearly shining on his face, "Thanks for letting us know about the Spix and Lear's macaws and that they are still alive. We are also glad that the fire had died down but it had been awful last night. I had been swamped with worry about the Spix and Lear's macaws…"

Nearby, Lucy also smiled and utter a prayer of thanks to God in her mind for keeping the macaws safe from the fire.

"We still haven't had any news about the glaucous macaws yet," said the newswoman named Alexandra. When the cat and dog families heard this, their faces fell. But then suddenly, Jack's voice sounded.

"Tulio, Linda, LOOK!" he shouted. The two adults turned round and Jack pointed in a certain direction. At this, Tulio and Linda followed the point. The moment they looked in the indicated direction, commotion and murmurs began to sound throughout the medical setup. The cameraman filming the footage then turned his camera and began to follow some of the humans.

"What's going on?" asked Veggie. The other cats and dogs also looked perplexed but then the centre point of the commotion finally became clear.

"There are some glaucous macaws coming toward us," shouted Tulio's voice, "Unbelievable..."

The moment the cats and dogs heard this, their confusion turned to shock.

"What!?" gasped Ginger.

"Glaucous macaws!?" added Catina. The kittens and puppies also widened their eyes as the TV camera then showed a small flock of Spix macaw like birds then fly towards the humans. However, it was clear that they weren't Spix macaws. Most of the birds' body feathers, and wings and tails were either blue or more commonly, turquoise, sometimes with a greenish tint. Some of the macaws had greyish tail undersides but all of them had grey heads and necks, and a strip of yellow bordering their eyes and a yellow piece of skin behind their lower beaks. As soon as the flock of glaucous macaws were near the humans, they slowed to a hover, some of them revealing some more glaucous macaws in their talons. Those macaws looked injured. Some had gashes marking their bodies while a few speared to have fractured wings. The moment the humans came near, animal medics immediately began taking the injured macaws away to treat them. While they did this, Tulio turned to the camera, his eyes sparkling with utter shock and joy.

"Looks like we have full confirmation that a flock of the macaw species believed to have gone extinct in the wild with the last recorded sighting in the 1960s is living out here!" he cried, barely able to control his excitement, "We'd better locate where they live and include their habitat as part of the Sanctuary de Amazon straight away!"

Dash smiled with amusement as he watched the lead ornithologist jump up and down.

"He's like a kid excited over a new toy," he said.

"I'm not surprised," said Ginger, "It's a remarkable discovery."

Then Broccoli recognised one of the glaucous macaws. "Hey, Mom, Dad, guys, isn't that Mr Pluto?"

He pointed a paw to the screen. The others looked and sure enough, they saw a teal-tinted turquoise glaucous macaw with sandy brown eyes hover nearby, much to Susan and Lucy's shock.

"Pluto!?" gasped Susan, "What are you doing out here?"

Then a white parrot with a yellow crest appeared on the screen.

"And Travis too," said Ginger.

"Looks like they have survived the fire as well," said Catina.

"Unbelievable," said Veggie. Then the kittens and puppies cheered loudly as Travis was hugged by Susan and Lucy. Then as the group of humans began to treat the injured glaucous macaws, another familiar macaw appeared on the screen.

"Wait, is that Venus?" asked Dash, recognising the macaw. The others looked closely and saw that it was a Spix macaw with a pair of pigtail-like head feathers. What other macaw, than Matilda, had a set of head feathers like those?"

"It is," said Veggie.

"She looks in bad shape," said Catina. Indeed Venus was. She was lying in a bed of soft tissue and paper. Her back and right wing were bandaged and Venus's head was gently held up by a gloved human hand. The other human hand, also gloved, had some sort of tube that narrowed to a smaller cylinder that entered Venus's beak. Inside the tube was a clear liquid and a pushing piece was pushing the liquid into Venus's beak at a carefully controlled pace. Linda began to give the description of what was going on.

"This Spix macaw was brought to us by one of her friends," she said, "As it turns out, it is Venus, the former pet or animal companion of Susan and Lucy. She was brought here with a bad scratch on her back and what I believe was a bitten wing based on the puncture wounds she had on it. Both of the wounds were horribly infected but now we have thoroughly cleaned the wounds and bandaged them up and we've been given her antibiotics to help kill any bacteria that have entered her body. As you can see here, Amy is just finishing giving her the next dose…"

After Amy, the one holding the transparent tube called a syringe, had finished giving Venus the next dose of antibiotics, she retracted it from her beak and moved her hand away from Venus's head. Veggie looked on in shock.

"Infected wounds?" he said.

"She must have been attacked by a predatory bird or something," said Ginger. (More like vicious bats, Ginger).

"Yeah, being new to the wild is often fraught with dangers lurking around every corner," said Catina. Then Daisy, one of Broccoli's sisters, said, "Will we ever get to visit the Amazon?"

"Don't be silly, Daisy," snapped Veggie slightly, "We're housecats. We're not built for the harsh environment like jaguars."

"Yes, you wouldn't survive long," said Ginger. Then Veggie remembered when he and Dash had to spend the night in Tijuca forest after escaping the smugglers. "In fact, Dash and I did get a taste of staying in a wild forest during the night after we fled that psychotic cat Brutus. I never liked it out there at all. It's definitely not for domestic cats and dogs."

"Absolutely not," said Dash, also remembering that night.

"Well, did you know that all domestic dogs are descended from a wild dog that is adapted to living in a wild habitat?" said Veggie, "The grey wolf of North America is the ancestor to every breed of dog now in existence. Bia and Ganymede told me."

"Really?" replied Ginger surprised.

"I didn't know that," said Dash.

"And yet there are so many dogs with so much variety," said James.

"It's so mind boggling," said Esperanza. Avellana, Danny and Eduarda nodded in agreement. Veggie then winked with a smirk at the greyhounds.

"Artificial selection of the genetic variety God has put into the dog kind, my canine friends," he said, "Just like how my, Catina and our kittens' kind, the cat has so many variety as seen in domestic cats such as us, and all the cats adapted to the wild such as the jaguar of the rainforest, the tiger that lives in India's jungles, the speedy cheetah, the burly and master tree-climber leopard and the mighty lion of the plains of Africa."

The cats and dogs all burst out laughing.

"You know, you certainly have spent a lot of time with Bia and Ganymede," said Catina.

"You'd probably become almost like them if you spend enough time with them, Dad," said Collette. Veggie smiled. "Well, I'll never get my head around mathematical and physics equations, genetics and other complicated sciences, my daughter."

The group then entered another fit of laughter again. Then Dash opened his eyes and saw Susan look over Venus in horror. "Well, I hope Venus recovers from her infection and returns to living with the other Spix macaws with Zephyr and their chicks."

"Yup," said Ginger. The others nodded in agreement sand continued watching the TV as the news carried on.

It was now around midmorning and the humans' setup of the medical tents and use of the helicopters was in maximum activity. Animals such as a few macaws were being treated for a variety of injures, among them burns, broken limbs, gashes and more. While the humans carried out their work, a sea of colourful feathers perched in some trees on the edge of the deforested area. Eduardo sat with Mimi, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, Roberto sat with Brisa, Zephyr, Tornado, Gael, Nuvem and Viento, and Cassia the lead tribe nurse sat with Nuvem. With Zephyr and Tornado sat Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Near the Spix macaws, some green (military and great green), Lear's, blue-and-gold, blue-throated, hyacinth, scarlet and green-winged, and glaucous macaws sat together. Valentino and Rosalind sat next to Alonso and Verde while among the crowd, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Travis and all their mates and chicks sat with their extended families and friends. Tornado had been the one to bring Venus directly to the humans after managing to catch up with Falkor the milicinth macaw with Zephyr. Falkor had carried Venus for most of the way but he did not want to be seen by humans and thus mistaken for a new species, so he had Zephyr and Tornado carry Venus to the humans instead, as soon as they had found the human setup. Tornado had taken Venus from his talons and had quickly taken his sick daughter-in-law to a group of humans, who had taken her away for immediate treatment. After this, Zephyr and Tornado were reunited with Brisa, Nuvem, Gael, Viento, and Zephyr and Venus's chicks, Justin and his three siblings, as well as their other friends. Now they were watching from the sidelines. There was a moment of silence enveloping the air above the macaws, but then finally, Alonso broke it. Turning slowly to Valentino who stood right next to him, he raised a wing, but not hostilely.

"I presume a lot of your territory has been badly damaged by the fire, hasn't it?" he asked, "Including the cliff face in which most of your tribe stays in."

"Yes it has," said Valentino but not in a hostile voice, "I suppose a lot of your territory's been damaged too, hasn't it?"

"Yes," said Alonso. Then he sighed and thought. "You know, I think it's time for us to start anew… time to turn over a new leaf…"

As he said this, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon looked up hopefully, as did Sapphire, Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette who had been allowed back into the Lear's tribe by Valentino. Valentino sighed and said, "I agree."

Then he turned to face the green tribe patriarch and raised a wing.

"This feud," he began. Alonso also raised a wing and joined it with Valentino's.

"Ends here," he said, finishing Valentino's sentence. At this, Verde and Rosalind smiled as cheering erupted from the other macaws behind them, especially from the Lear's and green macaws. Then the latter two began shaking wings. Waldo shook wings with Lewin and Luis, his bitter rivalry with the two brothers having dissolved and Rosalind shook wings with Verde. Uranus, Mercury and their families smiled widely, the feud between their tribes now finally dissolved. Then Alonso remembered the camu-camu fruit grove.

"Well, now that we're going to make peace," he said, "I just had a thought about the camu-camu fruit grove. I was thinking about giving the entire grove to you Lear's macaws."

"No, you keep it," said Valentino. Alonso was about to disagree when Drake flew in.

"Alonso," he said. Alonso turned to him.

"Yes, Drake," said the green tribe patriarch.

"I believe we may have found a cluster of camu-camu fruit near the green/blue-and-gold border," said Drake, "At the moment they're a pile of burned sticks and leaves but they do bear a strong resemblance to the camu-camu grove we shared with the Lear's macaws."

Then Verde looked at Alonso and said, "It could solve the problem of the camu-camu fruit grove conflict we have had with the Lear's macaws for so long, dear."

Alonso then thought. After thinking, he said, "Right, after this, Drake, I would like you to take me there and show me those supposed camu-camu bushes."

Drake smiled and returned to his perch. Valentino flashed Alonso a smile.

"At least we don't have to face so much competition with you green macaws," he said. He then felt a twinge of guilt flare within him. The years of conflict his tribe had with the greens had come to mind.

"Look," said Alonso with a wing on his shoulder, "Those days are gone now. We start anew. From now on, we are going to be friends and will stand together. This fire has changed all of us."

"Yep," said Rosalind. Then Valentino shot a glance at Mercury and said, "Oh, Alonso, about that little incident leading to our match in the Pit of Doom for the whole camu-camu fruit grove?"

"Yes?" said Alonso.

"It wasn't that macaw Mercury over there who crossed into your territory," said Valentino, "It was actually one of my other macaws, Archie. For some reason he did not like Mercury at all and had set him up to get rid of him. However, I've evicted him for this mess he has got us into with you green macaws."

Then Verde raised her head.

"Oh, Valentino, about that," she said, "Some of our patrollers did find the body of a macaw in the clearing of unowned territory between our territory's border and that marking the flying fox colony's territory after the fire had died down. It had navy blue feathers; teal tinged facial feathers, the yellow-orange eye rings and beak lappet, green eyes and had a muscular build. It appeared to be male and had a short feather ruffle behind his head. We believe that macaw could be from your tribe that might have got lost in the fire."

Valentino put together the description of the macaw and realised that it is Archie.

"Is that macaw alive?" he asked hopefully. Alonso and Verde shook their heads sadly.

"No," said Verde, "Our patrollers had checked his pulse and he's definitely not alive."

At this, Valentino's face fell, as did Sapphire's. Then Sapphire began to weep, so Mercury put a comforting wing around her shoulders. Archie, despite his hatred toward Mercury, had been one of her closest childhood friends. Alonso then put a comforting wing on the saddened Valentino's shoulders again.

"We're so sorry about that, but it's true," he whispered.

"How did he die?" asked Rosalind.

"He's been found with lacerations on his torso," said Alonso. He then winced as the description of the carcass the patrol group that had discovered Archie's body brought back to him repeated in his mind. "It's too gruesome to describe, but we believe that it was the flying foxes' doing."

At this, Valentino and Rosalind's sadness turned to horror and they winced in revulsion but Alonso nodded to confirm that it was true.

"It was definitely not caused by a predatory bird based on the description that patrol group brought me and Verde," he said. Rosalind then shook as she stole a glance from Mercury.

"That pigtailed Spix macaw friend of his was almost slaughtered by a group of them as well," she said, "according to Flavio, the head of the Navyfeathers Clan."

"Huh, talk about a close brush with death," said Alonso as he stared at Mercury and then at Uranus. The others nodded in agreement. While the Lear's and green macaws were making peace with each other, Rudi sat next to Eduardo and next to him, Flavio stood with Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton, Indigo and Marinho. Rudi was indeed dwarfed by the adult hyacinth macaws and was only half the size of them. Valeria was back in the glaucous macaws' new home with Alberto and Lorenzo, their two sons.

"You know, I can't thank you enough for providing us with a home," said Rudi to Flavio, "It's the sort of home we've been looking for years since we lost our last one to the flying furballs."

"Well, there you have it," said Flavio, "If your leader had asked another tribe or clan in the first place rather than settle in a vulnerable spot as refugees, you wouldn't have had to live like that in the coming years."

"We heard that a clan of red-fronted macaws had been driven out," said Rodrigo who sat nearby, "That reminded us of when they attacked us…" he then quivered with guilt and looked at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli with their four chicks, "…and how I abandoned Lapis Lazuli when we were adolescents."

He then smiled at the couple. "At least she has a mate who truly cares for her now. I'm just not the right sort of guy for Lapis at all."

"You ought to count yourself lucky I didn't evict you from our tribe, Rodrigo," said Rudi angrily. Rodrigo sighed. Then Rudi moved on.

"But it was very difficult in getting over the reluctance to show ourselves to those humans who are now treating the injured members of my tribe," he said, "And provide proof that our species is still in existence."

"That's how we lived," said Eduardo, "Until we realised that we were in the wrong."

Rudi smiled and nodded in agreement. He couldn't have been prouder and was glad to have revealed his tribe to the glaucous macaws and move in with a clan of caring hyacinth macaws who had kept their now occupied cluster of trees open in case a bird clan or tribe wanted to move in with them. Two major changes had taken place over the fateful night last night despite the terror the fire had caused all the residents in the Sanctuary de Amazon. The glaucous macaws moving into the safety of the Sanctuary de Amazon where they will be protected from poaching and logging as well as revealing themselves to Tulio and his team who will then work to include this vulnerable flock into the protected reserve, and the Lear's and green macaw tribes making peace… at last.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33- ending, epilogue and plans for a summer trip to Rio**

Six months had gone went by since the fire tore through the jungle but over that time period, the rainforest had recovered from the devastation. Green leaves had grown back on the trees and the undergrowth had also regained their greenery too. Fruit trees had begun to produce fruit as well and flowers had also grown back. Furthermore, the lakes and rivers were back to their normal levels. In the drought they had lost a lot of water but after a number of bouts of rain, they had been replenished. The animals that had been injured in the fire had also been returned to the jungle by the human ecologists and vets after they had made a full recovery and declared fit enough for release, and the number of macaws, most of them glaucous that had been injured, had also been released into the wild after making a full recovery from their injuries. Venus, who had suffered from infected wounds on her back and wing, had also made a full recovery and had been returned to the wild as well, where she was happily reunited with her mate Zephyr, chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and her other friends and family. The glaucous macaw tribe that had moved in with the Navyfeather Clan had been included into the Sanctuary de Amazon and the Navyfeathers' territory had been set up as a more restricted area of protection than the rest of the sanctuary so that the precious glaucous macaws were protected from logging and poaching. With the protection up in place, Rudi and his tribe were now able to live in a proper home without having to worry about facing destruction from logging or invasion from poaching. Also, they had a clan of large macaws to help protect them in the unlikely event of a crisis. Pluto and his family had also moved in with the tribe and for the first time since they met Rudi and the other glaucous macaws, had a proper hollow in a proper home. The home was indeed proper, the sort the glaucous macaws had been searching for years. All the macaws had proper hollows to live in and not out in branches in crowds like they had done since they lost their home to the flying foxes until the move and the glaucous macaws were once again in contact with the other macaw tribes and clans as well.

The relationship between the green tribe and the Lear's tribe had also improved. Before they had been in conflict with each other but now, like the red and Spix tribes shortly after their collaboration in driving off the loggers, the green and Lear's macaws lived together peacefully and some had even made friends with each other. Furthermore, after the discovery of a patch of camu-camu fruit bushes in a part of the green tribe's territory close to the green/blue-and-gold border, and that they were inside the green territory, Alonso had given the Lear's macaws their side of the camu-camu fruit grove at the green/Lear's border back as well as the majority of the camu-camu fruit grove on their side as well, though the green macaws occasionally visited the grove to share some camu-camu with their now former enemies as Valentino had wished. Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette had moved back in with Valentino and his tribe, and a burial for Archie had also been carried out. It was clear that Archie had been killed by a group of flying foxes, but the Lear's tribe, especially Sapphire had been devastated by the loss. Alonso had promised to keep a close eye on the green macaws' outer border nearest to the flying foxes' territory border, especially where some green macaws had found Archie's body, for any flying fox activity, just in case. If any suspicious activity was reported, Alonso would keep the Lear's macaws informed. Things certainly were returning to normal for everyone in the Sanctuary de Amazon. Though the cause of the fire had never been determined or found, but some of the ecologists had assumed that logging activity which had been reported where the glaucous macaws had formerly lived was the likely cause, while others believed it could have started by natural means. However, no-one noticed that it was actually caused by the careless logger group leader who had tossed a still-burning cigarette end aside and it landed onto a patch of seriously dehydrated ferns and shrubs. Despite not getting to this, the ecologists were glad that the fire had been extinguished and that the sanctuary had made a full recovery.

 **After the six months**

The macaw tribes and clans' home patches were alive with music. All the macaw tribes and clans were performing their theme dances to celebrate the end of the drought and the newfound peace between the green and Lear's macaw tribes. In the Spix macaws' ravine, dancing blue birds filled the air, singing to 'Beautiful Creatures'. The male macaws had parts of their faces painted red with fruit paint while the females had yellow flower pollen smeared onto parts of their faces and wing tips. Among the dancing macaws, Blu and Zephyr, who had red paint on their faces, danced with Jewel and Venus respectively. Jewel and Venus had yellow pollen on their faces and wingtips. Also among the dancing birds, Brisa also decked out with yellow pollen danced with Roberto. Some of the chicks were also dancing with the adults. Carla, Bia, Charlotte, Matilda and who were decked out with yellow pollen on their faces and wing tips and Tiago, Justin and Virgil who were decked out with red plant paint on their faces, danced together. Justin danced with Carla, Matilda danced with Tiago and Bia danced with a male chick named Raul. Virgil had been a bit disappointed that Bia had chosen to dance with another male chick, but since Raul appeared to be into nature like Bia and had told Bia that he was into nature as well, he had convinced her to dance, leaving Virgil out of the circle and forcing him to dance with another macaw chick. Two of the friends of the seven macaws, Garrett and Turquesa also danced with the other chicks. Around the central macaws, the other macaws, among them Maximillian, Roxie the scoremarker of the Spix Pit of Doom team, and Mertle and of course Eduardo and Mimi, also danced. It truly was an awesome sight to watch. The recovery of the ravine itself was also an amazing sight. All around the ravine of the Spix tribe, the trees had regained their green leaves while flowers had returned, forming a carpet of colourful mass thrown across parts of the ravine floor. The waterfall and river pool were also back to their full selves, the rains having replenished them. The ravine was like how it was before the fire, vibrant and colourful. From the once-again green trees, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa watched from the sidelines, the three sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's hybrid chicks avoiding trying to dance with the Spix macaws after what happened last time!

While the Spix macaws danced to their song 'Beautiful Creatures', the red tribe danced to their song 'The Red Macaws with the Blue, Yellow and Green Wings'. All the male scarlet and green-winged macaws including Mars, Jupiter, Ganymede, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, had yellow flower pollen on parts of their faces and leaf and vine necklaces around their necks while the females including Ruby, Io, Europa, Callisto and Chiquitita wore pink flower pollen on their faces and also leaf, vine and flower necklaces on their necks and some on their ankles. The red tribe's dance sequence was different to the Spix macaws but it was still as elegant. Among the crowd of dancing red birds were Felipe and Pearl who danced together. Jupiter danced with Ruby, Chquitita danced with Mars and their chicks also danced with some of the other chicks, such as Io with Sheldon the scarlet/green-winged hybrid, Alexandre with Estelle, Callisto with Byron and Europa, Ganymede, Phobos and Deimos with three other chicks. The scarlet and green-winged macaws were indeed having a good time. Like the Spix tribe's ravine, the red tribe's home patch and surrounding trees had also regained their green and colour and was like how it was before. Furthermore, Felipe and Pearl had had a clutch of three eggs for Pearl was finally ready to become a mother. She and Felipe looked forward to having chicks of their own and becoming parents.

In the blue-and-gold tribe's home patch, the trees and other plants had also regained their greenery and colour, restoring the habitat to its former glory. The habitat of the macaw tribe was filled with dancing blue, yellow and green macaws. The blue-and-gold tribe was dancing to their dance, 'Blue and Gold Feathers in the Blue Sky and Golden Sun', the males dressed with blue flowered vines around necks and the females in vines decorated with purple and pink flowers. Among the flock, Saturn danced with Orquidea while Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus danced with some of the chicks. Soleado and Zoie were also dancing, joined by their oldest son Tobias and two more children, a son named Amarillo (Spanish for 'yellow') and a daughter named Bromelia, after the Spanish term for the bromeliad flower. The third egg, however, did not hatch and thus was discarded. The blue-and-gold macaws were indeed celebrating the recovery of the sanctuary from the fire. In the green macaws' home patch, the great green and military macaws were also dancing, not only celebrating the recovery of the sanctuary from the fire and the restoration of the green and colour to their home but also their newfound peace with the Lear's macaws. The male green macaws wore orange fruit paint on their faces and wing tips while the females wore yellow flower pollen on just their faces. Among the dancing flock, Uranus danced with Esmeralda while Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon danced with some of the chicks taking part in the dance, named 'We Are Green Macaws Living in the Green Jungle'. Alonso also danced with Verde. They had two chicks flutter around them. They were a son named Martese and a daughter named Lima. The two chicks had hatched two days after the fire and had brought tremendous joy to their parents and the tribe, the first they had had shortly after the fire.

In the Lear's tribe's ravine and habitat, the vast diversity of colour had returned to both zones. The bottom of the ravine was once again decorated with a carpet of colourful flowers and the stream that rain on the floor from three small waterfalls was back to its original size. The cliff faces, both the rocky and the sandstone, and their holes were also once again a pale sand brown colour as the blackened soil had eroded away. The Lear's macaws had worked together in getting rid of the blackness on the cliff faces to make it look nice again, and had also cleaned their cliff face hole homes of charred soil to make them more habitable again. Also, the trees had regained their greenery and colour. In the ravine air, the Lear's macaws danced to their tribe song 'Elegant Navy Birds in the Glorious Jungle', with the males wearing colourful flowers around their necks and yellow plant paint on their faces, and the females also wearing a necklace of flowers around their necks but a flower on their heads instead of fruit paint. Among the dancing navy blue and teal-tinted faced birds, Mercury danced with Sapphire while Waldo danced with the tribe's scoremarker of the Pit of Doom team, Monique. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also danced with a male chick each and amongst some of the other chicks, and Valentino danced with Rosalind. The Lear's macaws also celebrated their newfound peace with the green tribe and the recovery of the jungle. The same happened in the Bluewing hyacinth Clan and their blue-throated macaw co-inhabitants, and the Navyfeather Clan and their new glaucous macaw co-inhabitants. Demetrio and Violeta, the leaders of the Bluewing Clan and their two sons, Arlo and Vincente, danced with their clan and the blue-throated macaws, as did the blue-throated macaw clan leaders, Reynaldo and Anita. The leader couple had a chick dance with them, a son named Edson, who had been born from a clutch of two eggs. However, his sibling did not hatch and after seeing that the egg was infertile, his parents had chucked it. The hyacinth and blue-throated macaws danced together and their song was called 'We Love the Wildlife'. The male Bluewing hyacinth and blue-throated macaws wore fruit shell and flower decorated vines around their necks and ankles and red paint on their faces while the females of both clans wore the same decorations as males but pink flower pollen on their faces and a flower on their heads. Among the dancing mass of large navy blue and smaller rich blue and yellow or yellow-orange birds, Cobalto danced with Ceres and their sons Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur danced with some of the blue-throated macaw chicks. Though the Bluewing and blue-throated macaw clans' territory was largely untouched by the flower, they were glad that the rest of the sanctuary had recovered. During the dance, the blue-throated and hyacinth macaws danced separately but during the climax of the song, they mixed together but retaining their partners. Two different species of macaws dancing together to a common song was quite rare but it was an amazing sight to see the air above the Bluewing and blue-throated macaw clans' home patches decorated with a cloud of navy blue, lighter blue and rich yellows with other colours from their face paint and body attire thrown in like sprinklers on top of a human treat such as a bun.

Finally, in the Navyfeather and now glaucous macaws' territory, the Navyfeather hyacinth macaws, among them Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton danced to their theme song but this time, they had new and additional macaws with them. Before the glaucous tribe moved in, the Navyfeather Clan's dance was called 'Dance of the Hyacinths' but now it had been updated to 'Dance of the Navyfeather Hyacinth and Glaucous Macaws' to include Rudi's tribe. During the past six months, the Navyfeathers had trained the glaucous macaws to dance similar to how they did, but because the glaucous macaws had not sung their song for years, it had been difficult, but they eventually mastered the moves. Both the male hyacinth and glaucous macaws wore yellow flower pollen on their faces and chests while the females had pink flower pollen on their faces and a flower on their heads, and they danced together. Among the dancing glaucous macaws were Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, and Rudi and Valeria with their sons Alberto and Lorenzo who had both learned to fly. The glaucous macaws were indeed very happy to have found a home at last, so they also celebrated it in the song with their new hyacinth macaw neighbours. Like the Bluewing and blue-throated macaw clans' home patch, the trees of the Navyfeathers and now the glaucous macaws were untouched and the trees that had been burned had recovered. It truly was an amazing time for the macaw tribes and clans, while for the non-tribe and clan resident birds, life had resumed to normal and the bird communities were enjoying life in the Amazon once again. Life truly has recovered from the fire six months ago, and the Sanctuary de Amazon was flourishing once again.

After everything in the macaw tribes and clans' home patches had settled down, their activities returned to their usual routines. Macaws were foraging for their families or themselves, patrol groups were sent out and outings with chicks for a tour of the sanctuary occurred. However, in the midst of the usual activities a group of macaw couples had gathered in a certain spot in the sanctuary, the meeting point of the Spix/red, Spix/blue-and-gold and the Spix/Lear's boundaries. Among the couples were Blu and Jewel, and they had gathered with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and their respective mates Sapphire, Zephyr, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli. All the chicks of the couples were playing nearby and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were with them. All the chicks including the cockatoo hybrids had grown somewhat over the past six months and appeared a little older and larger but they still looked similar to what they were six months ago. It will not be long now until the chicks reached adolescence. While the chicks played, the adults talked.

"Boy, it's been a really busy six months, I can tell you," said Zephyr tiredly, "We've been through a lot, especially with the fire."

"I agree," said Venus as she shuddered at the traumatic experience, "I hope that I will never get caught in that fire again. Not to mention come across those flying foxes."

"It had been a terrifying ordeal," said Jupiter with a shudder. He then stole a glance from Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as they played ball with Carla, Bia, Tiago and Charlotte. "I actually thought I was going to get trapped in the fire with those four. It sure was a living nightmare, I can tell you."

"It was also a nightmare to think of you being trapped by the fire as well," said Ruby, "Though Eduardo had told us and the blue-and-gold macaws that he was sorry for forgetting them when panic overtook him from hearing the warnings that the fire was spreading, and I don't think I can blame him for that but…"

"His tribe has had a terrible ordeal with the other fire," said Mars, looking at Jewel, "Since it tore her and Zephyr and his family from the tribe and killed a few more."

"I agree," said Chiquitita. She stole a glance at Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre before turning back to the others. The other macaws also nodded and murmured in agreement. Then Zephyr moved on to a happier subject.

"Oh, did you guys hear the news about my sister Brisa?" he asked. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and their respective mates looked up with smiles.

"She has become Roberto's girlfriend," said Jewel. At this, joy hit the non-Spix macaws.

"Oh, I'm so glad for her," said Mercury excitedly, "I'm glad they're a couple now."

"It had not been an easy road for Roberto and Brisa though," said Jewel with a stern look, "Mertle kept pestering Roberto with the intention of becoming his girlfriend instead of Brisa but Roberto was not going to allow a macaw with such an attitude problem to be his girlfriend and date as he preferred Brisa, so he chose Brisa instead."

"That Spix macaw, I believe, certainly does have an attitude problem," muttered Jupiter with a frown, "Especially how she allowed her daughter Aguamarina to snatch a Brazil nut off one of my daughters Io. I deeply worry for that chick. If Aguamarina does not change her attitude, there's likelihood that her daughter is going to grow up and become like her…"

"Mertle's parents spoilt her outright, Dad told me," said Zephyr, "Which may have led to her spoilt and obnoxious attitude. Not to mention her attitude towards Jewel."

And with that, he gave Jewel a worried stare but Jewel smiled. She was tough enough to handle that macaw's foul attitude. Then Blu changed the subject.

"Oh, we forgot to tell you," he said to the others, "I was wondering if you would like to come with us on our summer trip and stay to Rio?"

"Summer trip?" repeated Uranus.

"Yes," said Jewel, "I promised Blu that we, us two and our chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago, could do summers in Rio during the Amazon Untamed dance and I was thinking that you lot might be interested as well."

"You'll get to see your cat and dog friends again," said Blu with an encouraging smile.

"I think that's a great idea," said Mercury.

"Yeah, it'll get us away from the shock we have had with the fire for a while," said Venus. Travis then breathed a sigh of relief.

"I could do with us going back to Rio actually," he said, "Even after six months; I feel we don't belong here at all."

"I agree, as our chicks here are not mixing in well with the chicks of the sanctuary," said Sunset. Eustace, Milo and Rosa nodded in agreement. It was true that they were struggling to make friends with some of the other chicks apart from Carla, Bia, Tiago and company, because of their species, and sulfur-crested and Major Mitchell's cockatoos did not exist in the Amazon rainforest. Travis felt that his and Sunset's two sons and daughter could do with socialising with a group of cockatoos Blu had told him about back in Rio, and had been itching to return to the place after the ordeal with the fire six months ago. Then Saturn brought up another piece of good news.

"Oh, did you guys hear of the plans of Tulio and his team?" he asked.

"Yes?" asked Zephyr.

"They're planning to build an animal hospital in the middle of that deforested area," said Saturn, "Plus a system of watch-houses and bird hides for bird enthusiasts to go birdwatching. They're not implanting the plans yet but…"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," said Jupiter, "Especially the animal hospital. It would save our human friends a lot of hassle trying to bring helicopters in all the time and take a bunch of injured animals to the nearest city of Manaus which is kilometres away."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Ruby, "It would be of some use."

The others nodded in agreement when suddenly; a shell ball flew in toward Saturn. At this, he managed to lift a talon and kick it away in time, smiling as he watched Carla, Bia, Tiago, Charlotte and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto fly past and chase after it. Then Enceladus and Iapetus, two of his sons, flew by, also trying to chase the ball. Saturn giggled in amusement and turned back to the other macaws and cockatoos.

"Them lot with the ball, honestly," he tittered.

"So, would you lot like to come with us to Rio for the summer?" asked Blu. This was met by a bunch of yeses from the other adults.

"Oh yeah, definitely," said Mercury.

"It would give our kids a bit of a change of scene," said Sapphire as she stole a glance from Annette, Phoebe and Jasmine who were either relaxing or admiring a few colourful flowers and a butterfly.

"We'll get to meet our dog and cat friends again," said Venus.

"And Nico, Pedro and Rafael, and the sloppy Luiz," said Zephyr, reluctantly saying the last name as he still remembered the bulldog's gross drooling habit.

"It would give us a chance to escort Travis and his family back," said Mars.

"Definitely," said Chiquitita.

"When we meet our city friends, we'll be having a lot to catch up on," said Jupiter.

"Yeah, especially after the events of the past six months," said Ruby.

"I'd like to see how Dash and Ginger's pups and Veggie and Catina's kittens have changed," said Saturn.

"I reckon they'll have grown quite a bit," said Orquidea.

"And probably show more of their parents' inherited traits," said Uranus. Esmeralda nodded in agreement before stealing a glance at Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon as they chatted with Mimas, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Titan, the other five chicks of Saturn and Orquidea. Neptune also glanced at Triton and Indigo who were just relaxing on a tree trunk. Then Ultramarine looked around.

"At least everything is back to normal now," she said, admiring the restored colour, "Between all this and shortly after the fire, a large area of the Sanctuary de Amazon had been all black with no colour at all."

"And to add," said Sapphire, "There had been no more flying fox activity at the borders of the Sanctuary de Amazon closest to their territory boundary as reported by Alonso, Soleado, and Demetrio and Reynaldo's patrollers since the fire."

"Yeah, absolutely, looks like the bats have behaved themselves," said Cobalto, before turning to Venus with a stare, "after a group of them had chosen to… seemingly take out their anger on certain birds after the fire."

"Those bats didn't attack me out of anger caused by the fire, Cobalto," said Venus, "They went straight after me after I tried to tell them off for mocking Eduardo and Felipe's tribes, and the others that live here."

"Rebuking them only adds fuel to the fire, Venus," said Ceres, "Violeta told me that a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, it doesn't make a difference," said Lapis Lazuli. Pluto then shuddered.

"I hope I don't ever meet them," he said, "It's a good thing you managed to escape them using mud, Venus though I heard you got bacteria into your wounds from apparently applying the mud."

"I didn't have much time to think about my injuries, Pluto," said Venus, "I was in a seriously life-threatening situation. Had I had any delays, those bats would have killed me on the spot."

She shuddered at the memories of being wildly chased through the dark forest that night by those enormous bats and some of their pups. Venus remembered seeing the sadistic, mocking eyes and wicked smiles on the faces of those bats, the sharp-ended sticks some of them carried. Venus also had memories of those colourful clusters of feathers tied to the other end of those spear-like sticks, but those feathers weren't used for decoration, but as trophies harvested from freshly killed birds. Venus was certain that had she been killed, the bat that made the kill would have collected one of her feathers and added it to his or her collection. It had been a horrible ordeal, made worse by getting lost in the fire. It had left Venus badly shaken and too afraid to venture out alone into the forest at night, preferring to be back in the safety of the Spix tribe's ravine or vicinity of the home patch of another bird tribe or clan when the sun was close to setting, and from the night of the fire and when she encounter that group[ of flying foxes six months ago until now, Venus had completely refused to venture out into the dark forest by herself, and Zephyr could clearly see how the night of the fire and her encounter with some of those bats had badly affected her. each time Venus looked into the darkness of the forest at night outside the ravine, shivers would course through her body and her imagination ran wild, resulting in a flood of memories of that night flooding back. Venus would hear cackling sounds, see the evil faces of the flying foxes and at times imaginary flames, leering faces in the trees and cockatoo-faced monsters glare at her, making her become so overwhelmed with fear that she would dart back into the ravine. It was only if she had someone with her that calmed her fears. Venus hoped to never get lost in the dark forest again. Then the group continued talking while their kids played or relaxed.

Then the next day, Blu, Jewel and Jupiter and his group began to prepare for their journey back to Rio. After saying goodbye to their friends and family in their tribes and clans, with Tornado and Gael, and Eduardo and Mimi sternly reminding Zephyr and Jewel to keep out of trouble, and Felipe and Pearl sternly telling Ruby and Chiquitita to be safe as well, and Valentino telling Sapphire, Soleado telling Orquidea, Alonso telling Esmeralda, Flavio and Marinho telling Ultramarine, Demetrio and Reynaldo telling Cobalto, and Rudi telling Lapis Lazuli the exact same thing as well. Then after saying goodbye to their respective tribes and clans, Jupiter, Blu and Jewel and company met and then began to make their return to Rio with their chicks, and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa. However, Brisa was not with them. She had chosen to stay behind with the Spix macaw tribe so that she could spend more time with Roberto. Then Blu, Jewel, their chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago and the others with them flew off out of the Sanctuary de Amazon, but their first summer in Rio will be another adventure and story entirely.

 **And that's it; we've come to the end of the second story. As it turns out, I feel this has been better than the original version. This has given us a better introduction of what the flying foxes (most of them) are like and a taste of how they attack birds, as well as a better introduction of the Lear's macaw with a flock of them living in the Amazon already rather than introduced like in my previous story. Now the sequel to this story will be centred on Blu and company's adventures in Rio during their summer trip. However, who knows what next threat or adventure awaits them? Stay tuned for the sequel!**

 **By the way, there is still a possibility that Blue Sky Studios might plan on a Rio 3 sometime in the future. I wonder what Carlos Saldanha has in store for us regarding that. Blu and Jewel and their chick's trip to Rio during the summer, perhaps? We'll have to see.**

 **By the way, all characters not invented by Blue Sky Studios are copyrighted by me and you cannot use them in any of your stories. Thank you.**


End file.
